Drive
by scrapalicious
Summary: Drive, a simple word with so many meanings. Drive on the job. Drive in the Bed. Drive someone away. or Drive on the open road. This is a story about Jake & an OC. Not sure where the journey will take us but I hope you enjoy the ride.
1. I spy

A/N: This started as a one-shot but what can I say, I'm wordy and it got too big for its britches. So I'm not quite sure how long this will be or where it will go. Right now, I'm just along for the ride. Let me know what ya think. It always helps! Smooches, Scrappy

PS...I forgot to mention. Anything that you recognize is probably property of Stephanie Meyer's and her wonderful of Twilight. The rest is all me!

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Line…..Line…..Line. I shook my head trying to break the hypnosis the highway had me under. I had to focus on something other than the long endless blacktop in front of me. The road was empty and I was traveling alone. Normally driving was something I loved but I guess I was a little overzealous in leaving as early as I did. Now there was just nothing to interest me and keep me focused. I leaned my head back on the headrest and let myself zone.

Tree…Tree…Tree. Oh dear God, I have got to do something. I quickly decided to pull off the highway. According to the road sign, there was a gas station up ahead with a diner. It was just past sunrise so I figured there shouldn't be a problem for me to stop. A girl traveling alone can never be too cautious.

As I pulled up the exit ramp, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a well lit and clean looking gas station. I hadn't decided if I was just gonna do a quick grab-n-go or if I was going to sit down and actually enjoy a meal. There really was no rush. I really wasn't on any sort of time schedule. I gave myself plenty of time for this trip so I could just go with the flow. After all, this was the beginning of my new life. I made my own decisions from now on and had no one to answer to. I was free.

When I finally made the leap to go out on my own, leaving everything and everyone behind, I decided that I was also gonna leave the old timid, shy girl behind as well. The girl who was always worried about what everyone else would think and constantly seeking someone's, anybody's approval was no more. I couldn't do it any longer. I was tired of never truly knowing what I wanted, liked, desired or needed. I was always the "whatever **you** wanna do" girl. I had decided then and there, that from this moment on I would do the very opposite of what the "old me" would do. I smiled at the new power I was feeling. It was an odd sensation but one I was slowly starting to enjoy. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

I made the turn into the station parking lot and couldn't believe my eyes. Parked outside of the diner was the most beautiful car in the world. I know some people consider the love of cars a 'guy' thing but I was definitely a girl who loved her cars. I parked Precious-yep that's what I called my Camaro, sue me- but couldn't tear my eyes away from the thing of beauty I had noticed…my dream car, a silver Audi R8. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen and to find it sitting at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere USA. I had only seen these cars on TV, or the high-end car dealer I visited on my bad days, but here it was in the flesh. I tried to be inconspicuous as I stalked around the sleek body of the engineering masterpiece. I wanted so badly to touch it but didn't dare. After my third time, around it I decided enough was enough. I'm sure the owner would freak if they saw me out here so close to their car. I whipped out my phone, snapped a pic to remember it by and continued into the gas station to buy some snacks.

I strolled up and down the aisles trying to decide what form of junk food to get that would tide my over for a bit. It was still pretty early and if I was honest with myself I wasn't really hungry but driving just meant snacking. It's an unwritten law. Of course, the second unwritten law of road trips is the station you stop at will NEVER have the snacks you want. It must have been on my umpteenth time around the store when I finally saw something I wanted. There was a beautiful male specimen grabbing a few of his own provisions. Of course, _he_ wasn't for sale. But I surely wouldn't mind nibbling on him for a couple of hours. I tried to enjoy the view without looking like a stalker but it was near impossible. The only way to describe him was beautiful. He was tall with broad shoulders, muscles for days, gorgeous caramel colored skin and jet black hair. But it was his back that really did it for me. My hands instinctively flexed as thoughts of running my nails down his back ran rampant through my head. I shamelessly ogled the beautiful stranger a little longer.

I quickly devised a master plan to get closer to him when I noticed him lining up at the register. I hadn't even decided what I wanted to eat but I really needed to get up next to him. I looked back at the snacks, scanning faster than my brain could register, before I finally just grabbed a can of Pringles. I sprinted around to the fridge and searched for my energy drink. It was moments like this I really wished I wasn't so finicky but alas I was. It took me a little longer than I had hoped to find the flavor drink I wanted and by the time I was ready to line up my prey was turning to leave the station. I couldn't deny my disappointment but all wasn't lost; at least I got a clear view of his backside as he left out the double doors.

As I walked back to my car, my eyes were drawn to marvel of European engineering that was still parked away from the other cars. I let out a dreamy sigh as I opened my driver's side door and tossed the bag of goodies over into the passenger's seat. I situated myself and imagined what it would be like to drive an Audi on the open road. I took one final glance at the car that would always be my 'strike it rich' car before pulling out of the lot. I entered the highway and got myself rolling. I couldn't help but wonder which of the customers in the diner/gas station owned an R8 because no one stood out in my mind. I smiled to myself as I thought more about. "Wouldn't it be amazing if Mr. Luscious owned it," I said aloud to myself. The mere thought of him in that car had my rubbing my thighs together. Wow, I'd be having good dreams tonight.

Now that I had my snacks sorted and the music bumping, my return to the open road was a little more enticing. This was turning out to be a perfect day for traveling. I leaned back and relaxed into the drive as I finally reached my 'illegal' cruising speed of 90mph. I know I was risking a speeding ticket but this was the new me. The 'me' that did what she wanted. And I what I wanted was to drive fast. Of course, if I was honest I still wasn't pushing the envelope as far as I could. I wasn't ready to become the complete balls to the wall, wild child. Not just yet. I rested my hand lazily on the wheel and watched the world pass me by when I noticed a low hum. I wasn't sure where the sound was coming from so I turned down my music so I could hear better. The last thing I needed was for something to be wrong with my car. I slowed the car down a bit to see if the hum changed but it was growing louder. I checked my rearview mirror to see if there was anyone behind me, when I saw it. There was a speck back there and it was moving fast over the hills. Well the mystery was solved, I must be hearing that car approaching.

My smile grew as I realized that the speck in the distance was my dream car. I had left it behind at the station a little bit ago and it had caught up to me quick. It was traveling my way and now I was gonna get to see it in action. I quickly sat straighter in my seat and got ready to see if I my precious could keep up. The silver car streaked past me and I instantly pressed harder on my gas pedal. My car shot forward, passing triple digits and into the danger zone. As much as I wanted to hang with the big dogs I couldn't afford a ticket at this speed so I begrudgingly slowed back down to my cruising speed.

The seconds grew to minutes and finally to hours as the day went on. I was starting to feel a little cramped. I was definitely in tune with my car when I realized my gas meter was low and it was time for a pit stop. I started scanning the signs for something for both my_ tank_ and my car's. The chips had kept the hunger pains away but it was time for some real food. The next exit was loaded with multiple stations and tons of restaurants. Yes, it was a traveler's trap, but it was so much easier than continuing past this stop and hoping I would find something further on.

I topped of my gas tank and drove along the strip looking at all the fast-food restaurants hoping for something to strike me. I noticed a Sonic down the far end of the road and knew exactly what I wanted. I parked at one of the drive-in spots and looked up at the menu. Just as I was about to push the button so that I could order, my eyes happened on a wonderful sight. The travel Gods were definitely smiling on me today. Not only had I been able to see my absolutely favorite car in the world…TWICE, but there sitting at one of the tables in the open air dining area was my caramel lover. Needless to say, my plans quickly changed. I pulled down the mirror and gave myself a quick look. I really don't know what I was hoping for I was dressed for travel, so glam I wasn't, but I double checked my face anyway.

I tried to muster up some cuteness and strolled onto the patio. I placed my order and then strategically placed myself at a table near the hottie. I was close enough to sneak a peek so I could enjoy the view without being noticed. And if I could find the guts maybe even have a conversation. I sat down and tried to play it cool. I was fiddling with my phone trying not to be obvious, when he spoke. "Excuse me," he started. "I just wanted to ask if that's your car."

I glanced in the direction he was pointing and smiled. "You mean the purple Camaro?" I knew exactly which car he was pointing to but I just wanted to try to keep him talking.

"Yeah." He said, smiling approvingly. "That's a pretty sweet ride."

"Well thanks. I love her. She was my present to myself." I replied. He approving smile didn't go unnoticed so I continued, "so, let me guess are you a 'car' guy?"

He chuckled slightly, "You could say that. I like to say I just appreciate beautiful things." My cheeks grew warm as I felt myself blush. Was he seriously flirting with me, I wondered.

"Well then if you appreciate beautiful things I got one for ya. I don't know which way you are traveling but I saw the most amazing car a few hours back at a gas station." I easily fell into the story from this morning, not feeling the least bit nervous talking to this amazing man before me.

When the kid came out with our food, I was sure the conversation would end. I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. "I Should Be a Model" asked if he could join me. I smiled and waved to the bench opposite me. "Jake," he said extending his hand to me.

"Yeah, um, I'm Naomi." I answered as shook his hand. The kid handed my bag to me and then placed two bags in front of Jake. He pulled everything out of his bags, laying it out neatly before he started inhaling what had to be one of everything from the menu. He didn't eat like an animal but it was obvious he really enjoyed food. We continued eating and chatting about anything and everything. We didn't get into anything too personal but it turned out we had a lot in common. He was surprised that I could actually hold a decent conversation about cars and action movies. While I was truly amazed that he shared my love of books and travel. I don't know if it was his smile or those chocolate brown eyes or exactly what it was about him that put me at ease. But stranger or not, I could have sat and talked with him for hours.

"Well, I guess it's about that time." I announced begrudgingly. "There are a whole lot of miles I still need to cover."

"Yeah, I guess it is," he agreed as he gathered up all the trash. We stood and I smiled at his manners because this was definitely not something I was used to. I was a little surprised that I really didn't want to say goodbye to this man I just met. I fell into step behind him as he deposited the trash to the can closest to my car. He motioned me ahead of him as he escorted me to my car. I opened the door but didn't sit, choosing to stand with the open door between us. I crossed my arms on the doorframe and he stood on the opposite side resting his hand on the roof of my car.

"So."…"Well" we started simultaneously. He smirked and gestured for me to go first. "So, thanks for keeping a girl company." I continued.

"Trust, it was my pleasure." His charm was making this even harder to end. "You know in all that conversation, I never asked which way you're heading. I mean maybe…" He trailed off, obviously unsure of how or if he should say what was on his mind.

"West." I blurted out, ceasing his internal debate. "I'm heading west and will be until I reach the Pacific."

His face broke into a big toothy grin, "Well then, Naomi, here's to hoping we meet again on our westward journeys." He gave my car an appreciative pat before pulling the door further open so I could sit. He watched as I settled into the driver's seat and started the car. "Holy crap, woman, you drive a stick."

"But of course!" I smirked as I caressed my gear stick. "You're not threatened by a girl that can handle a stick, are ya?" My meager attempts at flirting were definitely appreciated.

He chuckled deeply, "On that note, I'm gonna go before I say something inappropriate." He closed my door, smiling at me through the window. With a small wave, he turned and walked away. I noticed that he wasn't heading towards any of the other cars parked in the lot.

"Hey Jake," I yelled after rolling down my window. I waited for him to turn around before I went on. "Where's your car?"

"A few buildings up." He thumbed over his shoulder. "I left it parked at the gas station. I figured I could stretch my legs and walk to the restaurant. I don't normally eat in my car anyway."

"Oh, okay. Well I guess I'll see ya then." I rolled the window back up, reversing out of the parking spot. Jake didn't move but watched as I drove off and gave me a final wave as I pulled out into traffic. I watched him in my mirror for a bit before saying out loud to myself, "Best pit stop ever!"

I reentered the highway and resumed my westward trek. I drove with a smile on face for quite a while. I couldn't help it. I had just done so many things that I would NEVER have done before. Not only had I talked to some random hot guy but I actually flirted with him, too. The best part was he was flirting back. How could I not grin? All through high school, I was that girl that all the guys loved to hang with but never wanted thought to date. I was the cool chick that could talk cars and didn't get squeamish over violence in movies. They all wanted to shoot the shit but not once had I had a real boyfriend.

Eventually, I started to think there was something about me that kept the guys from asking me out. I mean I didn't think I was horrible looking. I wasn't the slimmest girl. I was a bit busty and had curvy hips but I wasn't fat. I guess being busty but short may have made me look bigger than I truly was but was that really all that mattered to guys. Obviously, I was unattractive but I thought personality meant something. I soon realized the best I could ever hope for was to stay in the 'friend' zone. But today everything had changed. Today, a red-blooded American man had spent time with me. Sure the subject matter was still cars and action movies but there was just something different about talking with him. And that something had given me boost in my self-esteem that I have needed for years.

Lost in my internal ramblings, I hadn't noticed that I had slipped below the speed limit. Now even 18-wheelers were passing me by and that was just unacceptable. I flipped through my driving CD until I found some Eminem and got my rap on. I sped up and got back into the world of long-distance driving. I noticed that the big-rigs were rolling pretty fast so it was safe to say that the road ahead was free and clear of cops. I decided this was the sign to let Precious really play. I sped up quickly passing my 90 mph self-imposed speed limit and headed to triple digits. There was a silver car up ahead rolling deep and clearing the way so I decided to follow his lead. I fell in easily with the cars pace and soon realized it was the Audi again. I couldn't help but think what the odds were but honestly I didn't really care. I would follow those taillights for as long as I could.

The miles quickly added up and soon me and Mr. R8 had fallen into a nice routine. I had decided that the driver had to be a man, and had quickly taken to talking out loud to my driving buddy. Mr. R8 would lead for a bit, forcing the 'wanna-be' speeders out of the way and then he'd pull over and I'd take the lead for a bit. It was nice. I no longer truly felt like I was traveling alone; now I was just crazy and talking to myself. We continued like this for well over an hour when the construction signs started announcing road work. My head fell in frustration because this was definitely gonna throw off the 'Emperor's groove'. I was spoiled after the last hour and used to moving fast, this was definitely gonna suck.

I pushed Precious a little faster in hopes of getting around a bit more of the slow moving traffic before the road narrowed, but only made it another mile. Of course, the traffic couldn't just slow down it had to come to a crawl. It never failed to amaze me that losing a lane of traffic when there weren't that many people on the road could lead to a traffic jam…but it always did. I settled in behind the cars in the left lane and rolled down the windows. Now that I wasn't hitting the high speeds a little fresh air was welcome. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see if I could see Mr. R8 so I could finally put a face on the driver but he wasn't behind me. I don't know when I had lost him, he was right there on my tail for miles. Traffic eventually came to a complete stop, so I turned and tried to get a better look. I noticed the silver car in the right lane a few cars back. So much for finally knowing who was driving MY dream car he was just far enough back that I couldn't see clearly.

Traffic started moving again, creeping along at a snail's pace. It would go for a few yards and then stop again. The need to focus was long since gone and I was enjoying my music, singing out loud and not really caring who heard. Every now and then I would glance in the mirror, trying to see if my driving partner had gotten any closer but it just wasn't meant to be. I knew this was a bit odd that I wanted to see this perfect stranger but at the same time we had created a kinship on the road. You can't risk life, limb and finances like we were driving at speeds upwards of 100mph and not feel some kind of draw to each other. Well I couldn't, but I was always a little weird.

Between the traffic and the Route 66 Sweet Tea I had finished, my bladder was starting to get a little bothersome. I could see that traffic wasn't going anywhere and just barely made out a rest stop up ahead. I put my blinker on and hoped that someone in the right lane would be nice enough to let me merge. For once, it didn't take forever and a nice guy driving a mini-van slowed and let me over. I could see the longing in his eyes as I pulled in front and threw up a 'thank-you' wave. I putt putted along until I finally reached the exit ramp off the freeway. I took the first available parking spot and then quick-stepped my way into the rest-stop bathrooms.

As I exited the bathroom, I balled up my paper towel and pitched it towards the trashcan just outside the exit doors. When I made my perfect "3-point" shot, I whisper yelled "She shoots, she scores! And the crowd goes wild!" I hadn't noticed anyone in the lobby area so I continued entertaining myself by adding the fake crowd screams. It wasn't until I heard the slow clap that I spun around to see Jake grinning at my goofiness as he leaned against the wall on the 'MENS' side of the lobby.

"Nice Shot."

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A/N: Whose stalking who! Guess you'll have to come back for the next chap to see where this is going. Hope to see ya there. Smooches, Scrappy


	2. Coincidences

**A/N:** Hiya lovelies, So happy you came back again. I'm amazed by the response I got for this story. There weren't many reviews but quite a few of you put it on alert so mad love to all of you!

I need to show some love to my Beta, **GoldenGirl2707**. She's gone where not many have ever gone before and I love her for it. Big Smooches, GG.

Ok, its time for me to shut up and you to read. Til then end...Mad Love, Scrappy

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~~~~DRIVE~~~~

I spun around at the sound of Jake's baritone voice. "Stalker much?" I joked.

"Everyone needs a stalker," he said as he started towards me, quickly closing the distance between us.

I don't know where the snarkiness came from, but I replied, "And you think you're man enough to handle me?"

Jake smirked. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to spend some more time together and see if I'm up for the job. What do ya say we find somewhere to chill and wait out this traffic?"

I was enjoying being spontaneous, so I decided to go with him. It was an easy decision. The simple fact was that I enjoyed his company and had nothing better to do, so what the hell? With a small nod, I agreed, and we headed out the lobby doors into the warm sunshine. There were people everywhere. I flipped a mental coin and decided to go right. Jake never questioned where I was taking him; he just fell into step beside me. I scanned the crowded parking lot, looking for somewhere we could relax. All the picnic tables were taken, so I decided to head towards a grassy area that stretched out beyond the buildings of the rest stop. We made our way out of the cluster of disgruntled travelers and over to the outlying trees. I chose a spot far enough from the crowds but was still close enough that we weren't completely alone. I stopped and gestured to the ground. "So stalker-man, you wanna get down n' dirty with me?"

Jake threw back his head and let out a boisterous laugh. "I'd be an idiot to turn down a proposition like that." He contorted his large frame and lowered himself down to the grass in front of me. I just watched as he tried to get comfortable. After a few awkward positions, he finally decided to just stretch out and rest his head on his hands. I sat with my legs out in front of long seconds before Jake finally broke the ice and asked, "So this traffic is insane. Is it gonna mess up of your plans?"

"Not really," I answered. "I've got a long drive ahead of me and I really hadn't decided on any specific stopping points or anything. I'm just going with the flow and right now the flow has stopped. What about you?"

"Nah, no plans for me either. I'm just like the lone wolf, wandering aimlessly around, except now I'm traveling home."

"Have you been away long?" I asked.

"Not really. But for a guy who never left the neighborhood, being gone any amount of time may be considered long."

"Why'd ya leave in the first place? Did ya get the itch to get out?"

"Not exactly," Jake replied, pausing a moment to think before falling into an explanation. "Things at home had gotten a bit too intense for me a few months back. I wasn't coping well, so I decided to get away for a bit. I haven't really done anything interesting or exciting. I just drove and thought about things. There's something about speed that is just relaxing. The problem is my pops is in a wheelchair and being alone is hard for him. I've tried to call home almost every day, and he says he's fine, but I can tell he's getting lonely. Not to mention, I'm sure he's wearing on everyone's patience. There aren't many people who are willing to help out and he can be an ornery old man when he wants to be. So now it's time for me to head home. I need to get back and be responsible, ya know?" He hesitated for a second, pulling up blades of grass, before quietly adding, "They don't even know I'm coming back yet."

It was obvious that this was something he wasn't looking forward to. I couldn't help my curiosity, "Are you worried about it?"

"Yes and no. Like I said, it was intense. It's just a lot of crap that we're gonna skip over for now." He rolled onto his back and stretched out fully, focusing on the few clouds overhead. "That wouldn't lead us to a conversation that promotes relaxation. So let's end my story and you can tell me yours."

"So much for relaxing," I joked. "Well, um, my story is pretty close to yours except while you're running towards home, and I'm running away from mine." I looked up and noticed he had turned his face to me and was waiting for me to continue. We hadn't really spoken of anything personal during our first meeting at lunch, but things were just easy with him and I decided that it couldn't hurt to tell him a bit about myself. "Well, I guess to use your words…things were a bit intense for me, too. I just couldn't deal anymore. So I decided to break away and start somewhere new. I realized I was living the life that everyone else wanted me to instead of living the way that I wanted. And I was done. I wanted to make my own choices, even if they ended up being mistakes. It was time to do me. I had been following everyone else's advice and I was still miserable. So maybe, even if just for a bit, I would listen only to myself and see what happened. So I quit the job, broke the ties, and I'm heading out into the great wide unknown looking for something different."

"That's a bit adventurous for a little thing like you."

"Little? I got your little." I snapped. "I'll have you know I have mad ninja skills. You might just want to watch yourself."

"Sure, sure, Mini-Lee. What have you done that was so ninja?"

"Jacob-san…One does not speak of the ninja," I said in my best Mr. Miyagi imitation. I was starting to feel better now that I had moved the conversation away from such serious topics. It was an odd situation because all I could think about when he was talking was what it would feel like to hug him or to kiss him. Images of his arms around me kept popping up in my mind, but at the same time, I knew he would never think of me the same way. In the end, I was happy just spending time with him, even if in my head it was a completely different scenario. As much as I wanted to be the new Naomi, some habits die hard. "So enough with the serious; tell me about your favorite place to drive?"

Without a second's hesitation, he beamed and replied, "In the mountains. Definitely the mountains." I smiled at his enthusiasm. "My absolute favorite place would be on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs along the very top of the Appalachian Mountains and goes through about three states. The roads are narrow and windy, so I was completely focused on not dying. There wasn't enough down time to worry about any real life drama. My car hugged each turn so tightly. I probably pushed it a little too fast but it was perfect for a good thrill. I mean, the roads are built on the very edge of the mountain ridge. If you just look straight ahead, it feels like you are flying. There is nothing but mountain tops as far as you can see. I think I drove along that road for hours. I know I didn't stop until I had to come down for gas. But I swear, I…"

My giggle stopped his rambling. "So, you LOVE Mountains. Noted," I teased.

"Whatever. I guess I did get a little carried away. But it really is a damn good drive," he conceded. "What about you? What's the most fun you've had behind the wheel of a car?"

The cocky grin that spread across his face was proof enough that he meant that exactly how it sounded. "Hmm?" I stroked my chin as if I was in deep thought. "I think the most interesting thing I ever did was actually on a mountain road, too. See, it was not long after I had left home, and I was just kinda driving for the fun of it. Well, I reached the crest of the top of this mountain and the highway was clear. All I could think about was something my dad use to talk about and figured what the hell. So, just as I started down the incline, I threw the car in neutral and then shut the engine off."

"You're kidding!" Jake blurted out. I just shook my head no and smiled. I had his undivided attention.

"Any who, I'm free rolling down this mountain and I'm gaining speed. I'm not gonna lie and say I didn't hit the brakes because, well, that would just be crazy," I snickered before going on. "It was a serious rush to just let go like that. I rode like that for the full length of the downhill slope; must have been a couple miles. Don't get me wrong-I was full on scared and excited all at the same time. I was definitely white-knuckling the whole way down. I could see the hill ending, so I braked and got the car down to about 70. I took a deep breath, pressed in the clutch, threw her in gear and proceeded to bump start my car. Luckily, I remembered that I was supposed to pop out the clutch and then push it right back in just as the motor started." I shrugged nonchalantly and added, "But yeah, that was probably the most interesting thing I've done."

He nodded approvingly, "Well Mini-Lee that was definitely Ninja!"

We compared a few more car stories, falling easily into different conversations. On and on we talked, completely oblivious to the time passing or the people moving around us. Jake told me about his home and his friends. I couldn't resist asking if he had a girlfriend. He just shook his head 'no' and proceeded to tell me about this crazy female he hung out with. He said her name was Leah and she was so bad-ass that she had successfully scared the shit out of each and every one of the guys in the neighborhood; present company excluded, of course.

It turned out his love of cars went farther than just admiring them. He was a mechanic and had actually built several cars from scratch. Naturally, the one he was most proud of was one he built when he was 17. I'm sure there was probably more, but I was hypnotized by his husky voice. I couldn't seem to really comprehend what he was saying and was pretty sure I missed most of the more adventurous stories he was telling me.

All too soon, he was looking at me, hinting that I needed to start talking. I don't know why this was starting to feel like a tennis match, volleying back and for the as we spoke; first him, then me. I didn't know what to say at first. It was always difficult finding the right balance between sharing too much and just enough. It was the difference between looking overly emotional or being interesting. This is where most of my conversations with me went wrong; I'd either scare them away because I came across as too needy, or I'd sound so butch that they no longer looked at me as dating material.

I took a deep breath and tried to find the appropriate mix of words. I decided to start with the basics, because as long as I kept everything on the superficial, I would be okay. I told him about my family and about living at home with the parents and my younger brother. I didn't talk too much about school because I was a book worm and definitely not popular. The only positive thing I could say about school was that most everyone knew who I was, so I decided that was all he needed to know. Anything more than that and I was risking over-sharing.

I tried to find a few interesting stories from my past, but this was proving to be pretty difficult. I was certain that telling a guy like Jake what I was really like wouldn't make him interested in me. If he knew that I spent most of my nights up in my room, listening to music while jumping on my bed, he would never want to put his huge hand on mine. And I was positive that mentioning I had read more books than most of the senior class combined wouldn't make him interested in reenacting any of the love stories I was addicted to. The bottom line was telling Jake the truth about the dork I really was something I could never do.

When I ran out of things to say, I figured it was probably a good time to get moving. I suggested that we get up and stretch our legs since my butt was completely numb from sitting on the hard ground. Looking around, it was obvious that the rest stop had cleared out substantially, so the traffic was probably moving again. We slowly started walking back towards the parking lot, not saying much of anything. This time I let Jake lead the way. He started off in the opposite direction from the main building and my Precious. But before I could question him about where we were going, he said, "I'm thinking we should take the long way around and check the traffic situation. You know, just to make sure that we don't rush to get back on the road and end up sitting still again."

We continued along the gravel pathway, walking between the now empty picnic tables until we made our way around the far side of the building. We could see that the cars were moving and I knew that this was probably the end of our time together. Jake pulled his cell out of his pocket and held it out towards me. I looked at his him, confused as to what he wanted me to do. "Um, I was wondering if you wanted to exchange phone numbers. I mean, we're both traveling alone, and we are heading in the same direction, so…well, maybe we could…aw shit, I don't know. I was just thinking maybe you should have it in case something goes wrong. I'll probably not be too far away, ya know?"

"Are you volunteering to be my knight in shining armor?" I teased, poking him in his stomach. I was a little startled by how hard his abdomen actually was. If I was honest, I think I hurt my finger more than anything. He just shrugged and looked at the phone held between us. I smiled bashfully, but I took it and entered my phone number into his phone. I pressed the send button, waiting until my phone chimed so I knew that I had his number as well before I handed it back to him.

"Well, of course I am. After all don't you think it was fate that we met up? I should have known after seeing you at my first stop this morning that this was gonna be an interesting trip."

"First stop?" The question was out before I even had a chance to think it through. It struck me as odd that he hinted at more than just our meeting at lunch. I didn't know what to make of the situation, but something just felt a little off about it all. "What do you mean, 'this morning'?"

"Damn, busted!" he mumbled. I looked at him inquisitively, waiting for him to explain. "Time to come clean, huh? Well, I guess you could say that I noticed you at a gas station early this morning. But I didn't realize that you were the same gorgeous girl I saw hunting chips at '0 dark ugly this morning. To be clear, I really wasn't stalking you; that was purely a joke. I wasn't completely sure you were the same girl when you sat down at lunch. It wasn't until you admitted it was your purple car parked at Sonic that I knew for sure. I mean, you have a very distinctive car and I admired it when I came out of the Quik Stop. So there ya go. That's the whole story of your wanna-be stalker."

For a second I just stood and stared at him. I could barely process everything. Not only had he said that he had noticed me at the same time I was noticing him but he also thought I was gorgeous. How in the world was I expected to believe that he had been checking me out? This was definitely a situation that I wasn't used to. I decided the best plan of action was to joke about it, so I replied, "Well I'll give you props for your mad stalking skills, but you need to make sure of your target next time. You know nothing about me. I could be looking to take advantage of the innocent man traveling alone."

"Another proposition?" he teased. "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think maybe I should worry about my virtue."

I couldn't come up with anything witty to respond with so I just started walking again. I was still working over what Jake had just said. My body was on autopilot, just following along while my brain was in hyper-drive. As we rounded the corner, Jake slowed down and I bump into him. I looked up to see why he had stopped and noticed parked under the shade of a huge tree was the car of my dreams. My hand flew out and grabbed a handful of Jake's black shirt as I muttered, "Holy shit! Three times in one day! Do you see it?" I whipped my head around looking for anyone who could own this amazing automobile. "I wonder whose car that is."

"Yeah, I see it," Jake replied cautiously. "So you remember how I told you about how I noticed you this morning?" I nodded. "And do you remember how my car wasn't around at Sonic?" I nodded again.

"Well, um, that's my car."

As excited as I wanted to be to know the owner, the truth of the situation was starting to freak me out. Jake was Mr. R8. The random man who had spotted me at a gas station hours earlier in the day, was Jake. Jake just happened to be travelling the same way I was going. Then we ended up at the same restaurant for lunch. This man drove the car that had kept pace with me for the last few hundred miles. And finally he miraculously showed up at the very rest stop that I was at to kill time and wait out the traffic. I'm sure my breathing must have stopped as I took a small, and hopefully unnoticed, step away from him.

I should have known better; I should have known that when things seemed too good to be true that they usually were. I wanted to believe that Jake was a good guy, but all the warning signs were there. He even joked about being a stalker. But somewhere deep inside, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was nothing to fear from Jake. My first instinct was to turn and run away screaming, but as I looked at him standing there me, I hesitated. He didn't look like some crazy stalker dude, and he hadn't so much as touched me; not even one time, and I'd been with him for hours. And if I really wanted to be honest, I had picked where I stopped for lunch and it was pure coincidence that he was already there. There were many coincidences and just as many questions.

The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn't know anything for **sure**.

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**C/N:** So...What'd ya think? Let me know. I can't promise an update this weekend but the next chap will be a bit longer than this one. Hope to see ya there. Smooches, Scrappy


	3. Chaos

**A/N**: Hiya lovelies, Well its been a few weeks. Some of it was my fault, some of it...not so much. Either way I'm back. This chap may seem a little shorter than the others but I wanted it to end where it does. I spent an extra week trying to figure out if I could change it in anyway and well I like it just like this. So here ya go. Hope you enjoy. Smooches, Scrappy

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~ ~ ~DRIVE~ ~ ~

With Jake's big reveal, I felt the world shift. My day was wonderful up until that moment. The conversations I had with Jake were easy and we had so much in common. But to think that all the coincidences throughout the day weren't so accidentally anymore was starting to wear me down. I couldn't help but to feel lied to, to feel deceived. Why did he keep it all secret? Why couldn't he have mentioned it sooner? It was all too much.

I don't even really remember what, or if, I said anything coherent after Jake revealed he had known who I was all day. I know my mind went completely blank and my mouth probably fell open, but other than that I don't know. I want to hope that I didn't embarrass myself and I just turned and left. But the more I thought about it the more I came up blank. I can't even be sure I didn't run away screaming but to be honest I very well may have.

I knew he was on this same road somewhere; there was only one direction you could go once you pulled back onto the highway, after all. When I left the rest stop he was just standing there next to his car watching me as I drove by. I didn't intend to look at him but I couldn't help myself. It was just a glance out of my window as I passed by but it was enough for me to see that he looked upset; he looked almost sad. It was like he was genuinely hurt that I was leaving him there. When our eyes met, I noticed he was about to wave so I sped up. I couldn't handle him being charming anymore.

This was supposed to be the start of my new easy life, but this was far from easy. I wanted to get away from all the chaos that Jake's one declaration had caused in my mind. I needed everything to just disappear. There was always one thing I could do, one thing I always did when life got crazy. DRIVE. So, I drove.

All the confusion was making me feel crazy. My brain was a cluster-fuck of questions: What if's, is it really so bad, why me and on and on and on. I was trying to figure everything out but every time I would get close to an answer, to some clarity, it would all cloud up again and another question would pop up. Round and round my brain went, frustrating me more with every twist it made.

I don't know what was going faster-my car or my brain. I couldn't help but think and then rethink about all that had happened to me in the past few hours. I started off on the journey to my new life smiling and happy; finally free from the fake facade that was my reality. All I wanted was to reach the west coast and start over. I needed to get to a place that had no memories for me, good or bad. I wanted someplace where everything was new and fresh; a new start away from all the people who thought of me as that shy, pushover of a girl. The girl that everyone knew and would chat with, but no one really understood. I just wanted to let the real me shine through. There was only one problem, I needed to figure out who the 'real me' was. So when I left this morning, I truly thought I was off to a good start to figuring it all out.

It seemed so long ago but in reality it was just a few months prior that I decided to leave. To say the news of my moving came as a surprise to those around me would be an understatement. No one would have ever believed I would even think of leaving my so-called 'perfect' life, let alone actually do it. They always assumed I would always be around for them. It just showed how little they noticed me.

I was only noticed when they needed something from them. My parents would seek me out when they needed something done around the house or when they had an errand to run when they didn't feel like moving. My brother was nearly oblivious to the fact that I was even around. He would turn to me for a ride to his boy's house or on a rare occasion he'd want me to watch one of those movies he wouldn't be caught dead watching alone. The rest of the time I could sit butt naked in the room and everyone would continue moving around me without even a glance in my direction.

I didn't intentionally keep my plans a secret from everyone; I just didn't have anyone to I trusted enough to tell. I guess in a perfect world I would have told my family or a best friend but I didn't live in a perfect world. I didn't bother telling my parents because to them I was nothing more than a mistake they made 20 years prior. My brother barely noticed me on a good day so he wasn't exactly someone I'd to run and share my life's plans with. And I never had a true best friend. I had those people that surrounded me and used me to make themselves feel better but they never truly cared for me. So when I made up my mind to finally take care of me, there was just no one to tell.

I had saved and stashed away all the money I made working in that stupid grocery store. I didn't get the job with the intention to leave; the job was more of a condition my parents put on me to keep living in their house. There was one good thing that came from living at home with Mommy Dearest and Daddy Don't Care; I had no bills, so everything I earned was mine. Needless to say a girl with no extracurricular activities, hobbies, or life can save quite a bit over a few years. The added bonus of being invisible to people is it ensured no one ever wondered what I did with my paychecks every week.

Once I decided to make a change, everything around me seemed to change. The little things didn't bother me as much anymore. I was still felt alone in a room full of people, but I knew it was all just a matter of time. I could see the sunshine at the end of the tunnel and I was running towards it full speed. I won't pretend that I wasn't absolutely terrified but I was also excited. I finally felt like I had a purpose.

My new found purpose in life finally gave me something to do when I wasn't working. I spent much of my free time trying to envision where I would recreate myself. Trying to find that perfect place, the one void of all memories, became my favorite past time. I had lived and vacationed all up and down the east coast and needed something new. I needed a place virgin to my pain and the west coast met everything. My search was working but it was far from over.

I researched life on the west coast trying to narrow things down to at least which state I would head towards. I knew I was never gonna be a California girl, even if they did have a great underground for a car enthusiast like me. Oregon wasn't really what I had in mind; it was just a little too outdoorsy for my liking. After many random Google searches, I realized I always ended up back in Washington State. I couldn't explain why I was always ended up there but I did. So the more adventurous side of me decided if it was good enough for Google it was good enough for me.

It was an absolute euphoric feeling to have decided to make a change in my life. I had no words that would honestly explain how it felt to know that I was gonna stop looking at the proverbial 'green grass' on the other side of the fence and actually climb over to my new life. Sure I knew there would be things thrown in my path to make me question if what I was doing was smart. But I never dreamt that anything crazy would happen within the first few hours of me leaving everything behind.

Just like always, the crazy ramblings in my mind brought me full circle. I was back to trying to figure out this craziness with Jake. I really didn't want to let it bother me. I really wanted to think of it as nothing odder than meeting the same guy over and over when jogging in the park; or maybe the guy who sees you a few different weekends out at the club. Why was I so worried about the fact that this gorgeous man that I could chat with for hours had noticed me earlier in the day and the continually notice me throughout the day. I just couldn't figure out why it bothered me so much that he didn't mention it sooner. My confused musings continued to circle around my mind until my text alert chimed.

_**BEEP**_

It took me a few seconds to realize what the sound was; I hardly ever got messages before. Once the light started blinking on my phone, I knew. What I didn't know was whether to read the message or just delete it. My gut already knew what I would see if I picked up my cell, but the curiosity was overwhelming. Since 'seeing is believing' I snatched up the phone and quickly glanced at the screen only to see the name Jake on the cute animated envelope on my screen.

A smile instantly spread across my face and butterflies fluttered deep inside me before my brain had a chance to react. As if my day wasn't confusing enough, now I had to try to figure out why I was reacting this way. I couldn't deny that I felt something when I saw his name on my cellphone, but what I felt just started a new ripple of chaos. Deep down I had to admit that I wanted to read the text. I wanted to know what he was thinking and what he had to say. I wanted to keep talking to him, but was it ok. All this uncertainty proved I still wasn't ready for this. I didn't have any answers for myself so how in the world could I explain why I reacted the way I did to him.

I opted to be the scaredy cat I was and threw the phone in the passenger seat and turned my music up a bit louder. I tried to let my mind go blank. I wanted to think of nothing but the road and the lyrics to my songs, but it wasn't working. It didn't matter what played on my CD it always took me back to Jake. Every song, every lyric seemed to have some connection to what was going on. I clicked and clicked, flipping through the songs, trying to find something to take me away from it all and nothing was working.

_**BEEP**_

"FUCK!" I yelled as the phone chimed again. I couldn't do this anymore. Hiding from this situation wasn't working out the way I wanted. It wasn't going away. No matter what I did I couldn't seem to get my mind of Jake. Good or bad, it always went back to what happened.

I finally decided that doing what I normally did and running, or in my case driving, away from my problems wasn't solving anything. If I was honest with myself it never really did work. It just gave me the time and distance from whatever was bothering me to work on making sure my mask was firmly back in place. But one of the main reasons I had left was I was tired of being fake. I was tired of running. But most importantly, I was tired of being that scared girl. I needed to change. I wanted to do things differently but I was falling back into old habits.

I refused to react to things like I used to so with a deep sigh, I steered my car toward the next exit ramp. I knew I was already a hazard driving on the road in the mental state I was in, I wasn't about to make things worse by trying to read text while I drove. I was certain that whatever this text said was gonna need my full attention. Well it would need my full attention when I worked up the courage to read the damn thing.

The highway exit took me up to a random country road. I'm sure if I drove down a bit I would have reached civilization but that wasn't what I needed. All I needed right now was a quiet place to conquer an old demon-fear. I pulled the car over, just off the side of the road. I put my car in park on a small dirt patch in front of a pasture gate. I could see huge, fat cows lumbering in the fields off in the distance. I stared at them for a minute; jealous of their stress-free existence. No worries except how far they would have to walk to get to the next patch of sweet grass. No judgments. No fears. I smiled to myself at the absurdity of my brain; I could get distracted by anything if it kept me from facing reality.

_**BEEP**_

My hand slammed down on the phone as if it could physically stop the sound. I knew it was now or never. I looked down at the screen. I still only had one name Jake, only now there was a number 3 was under his name. Three messages I had ignored. Three attempts he had made to contact me. Three chances I had denied him.

It was odd to be so fearful of something so non-threatening. My finger hovered over the image as I tried to gain some courage. _Just do it, _I coaxed myself, _no more stalling! It's just a few text messages, what's the worst that could happen._ I summoned up what little bit of bravery I had and tapped the image. My breath caught as I watched the animated envelope morph into words.

1st message...

**Please talk to me.**

**Just give me a chanceto explain.**

**~J**

I felt my resolve weaken a little. _That message wasn't so scary. He really did seem like a nice guy. Maybe I should talk to him, _I thought. The second message wasn't nearly as hard to open. I wanted to see what he had to say next, so I gently hit the arrow and read the text.

2nd message...

**I'm so sorry, Naomi.**

**I had no idea this would**

**upset you like this. If you'd**

**only talk to me maybe you'd understand.**

**~J**

My head fell back against the headrest as I let his words sink in. He was sorry. There was nothing but kindness coming through these texts. I felt so stupid.

3rd message...

**I can take a hint. I**

**won't bother you anymore. I just want**

**you to know you made my day**

**and I enjoyed every second with**

**you. I'm sorry things ended like they**

**did. My phone is always on**

**and I can only hope you give me**

**a chance.**

**~J**

There was an undeniable sinking feeling in my stomach as I read the last message. I didn't want him out of my world. He may have only been around for a few hours but it was enough for me to know that I liked him there. What had I done? Fate had dropped this man into my world and I had run away.

I didn't know what to do. My head filled with a whole new list of questions. I screamed out in frustration and dropped my head to the steering wheel. I had to figure this out. I couldn't run from this. I couldn't deny it anymore. I decided it was time for me to just woman-up and deal. I made a mental list of my questions and tried to answer them one by one.

When I really took the time to look at it I slowly came to realize it wasn't that odd. I had noticed him at the same gas station where he noticed me. I hadn't said anything at Sonic when I knew full well who he was we he started talking to me. And if I was going to continue down this road of honesty, I had to admit to myself that I hadn't ever mentioned any of these coincidences either. I spent those hours with him at the rest-stop and never said a thing. I sat up straighter as my thoughts cleared themselves in my head and I fully realized that I was a hypocrite.

I had spent the past hour plus running in circles in my head to finally realize that he and I were exactly the same. I couldn't be mad at him for not saying anything if I hadn't said anything myself. My confusion was slowly morphing into self-hatred. I couldn't believe how much time I had wasted dwelling on this. I had to make this right. I couldn't let this poor, sweet man go on feeling as if he had done something wrong.

I snatched up my phone ready to right the wrong and then it doubt hit; what if he didn't answer. My bravado slipped away almost as quickly as it had arrived. How was I gonna do this? Should I call him and come clean over the phone? Should I be a coward and send it in a text? The crazy cycle started again only now going down a different spiral.

I dropped my head to the steering wheel again and just laughed. If I thought to hard about it I would realize I was losing it. I was sitting in my car, on the side of the road having a mental breakdown over a man I had only known a few hours. This man had my brain going in circles. I was talking to myself, _okay so that wasn't all his fault_, but I was mostly talking about him to myself. _Yep, full on crazy when you interrupt your mental breakdown with a footnote!_

I had never had such a strong reaction to anyone before. I mean sure I'd had crushes on boys in my past but this was so different. I had been through so many emotions in a single day and all of them were caused by Jake. He had me acting and doing things I would never do. Jake had met the real Naomi and he seemed like he liked the real me; and more importantly I liked how I was with him.

All this crazy had finally lead me to the most important question of the day: What was I gonna do about it? I sat up and frantically started pressing buttons on my phone. I had to get this text out before I second guessed myself. I needed to just act and not think for once in my life. Overthinking things was a bad habit of the 'Old Naomi'; the girl I was so desperate to leave behind. So after a quick proofread of my text, I clicked send.

That was done, now all I could do was move forward. No more dwelling on the what-if's running rampant through my mind. I had made a move and would just have to see what happened next. I pulled Precious away from the pasture gate and headed back onto the highway. The questions were still in my head but they were followed by a sense of contentment. I had a made a choice and followed through with it. Now I just had to see where the road takes me.

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**Closing:** So there ya have it. Hope ya liked but feel free to let me know either way (nicely please, I cry easy) Smooches, Scrappy


	4. Ice Cream!

**A/N:** Hello, me lovelies. Here I am with a little update. I hope you understand that RL gets in the way sometimes but you are always on my mind. Thanks to ALL of you who have reviewed my little story...means the world to me. I don't think I could ever truly express how good I feel each time I get an email, just use your imagination!

I also want to give a great big smoochy kiss to HotHeadsGravity for stepping in and fixing my mess-ups. She's an awesome Beta and I 'lub' here lots!

Enough babbling...Get's to reading. Smooches!

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~ ~ ~ ~DRIVE~ ~ ~ ~

My drive had taken on a different feel now. When I left this morning it was about excitement and starting a new adventure. This road had taken me to new places already. I had met a gorgeous man and had a lovely afternoon just shooting the shit. I should have known I would end up on a bumpy road, but I was rocked to my very core when I found out my gorgeous new friend had known who I was most of the day and had possibly orchestrated our last meeting.

So now I just needed to smooth things out again. I had sent a text to Jake and was trying very hard not to look at my phone every other second as I waited for his reply. I drove on in almost silence. I had my music turned so low that I couldn't even make out the words, but I didn't want to chance missing the chime of my phone if or when he finally decided to reply.

After the sixth song, I realized it had been almost 30 minutes since I sent the text. I didn't intentionally try to keep watch but I guess I was a bit t too anxious to ignore everything. I had to admit to myself that I wanted him to call. And now I was starting to worry myself sick over it. I was tired of waiting. I had already recognized that I was a hypocrite when I got angry over the day's events and now I was adding impatience to my list of traits.

I waited for a gap in the cars and moved to the right lane. Yes, the safer thing would have been to just pull over but if I kept stopping I'd never get anywhere. I slowed to a more conservative speed and then snatched my phone from its spot in the passenger seat. With repeated glances from the road to my phone's screen I worked my way through the menu to his name. I took a deep breath and clicked call. I could feel my breathing speed up as my adrenaline started flowing. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

**Ring**

**Ring**

**Ring**

My excitement was short lived. I pulled the phone from my ear not waiting for his message to pick up. I wasn't going to leave a voicemail. I was just about to hit end when I heard his baritone voice.

"Hello! Hello?"

Putting the phone back to my ear, I stuttered out a response. "Uh. Um, hi, it's Naomi." I held my breath waiting for his response.

"Hey, Naomi." He sounded surprised. "I was pretty sure I'd not be hearing from you."

"Sorry about not responding to your text, Jake, but I needed to sort some stuff out. I did finally reply didn't you get it?"

"No, I didn't but that's my fault. I was ignoring it for a while there."

"Oh." I couldn't hide the hurt in my voice.

"Oh no, Naomi, it wasn't because of you." He explained. "You know I wanted to talk to you again. I mean 3 texts, come on, you had to have figured that out."

I smiled at how easily we fell back into our banter, "yeah, I guess you're stalker title still stands"

"Good to know," he laughed. "On the real, though, when I got back to the car, my family had started burning up my phone. I just stopped checking every time the text alert went off. I didn't have the energy to deal with their bullshit right now."

"I'm guessing that since you're ignoring them, there's nothing wrong at home."

"No, they're good. They are just pains in my ass. But is that why you called...to chat about my family?"

"Yeah, no. That's not why I called." The nerves were back full force but I pressed on. "So, um, I kinda need to talk to you about what happened." I stopped, waiting for any rejection but was met with only dead air. I took a deep breath and continued. "I don't know how far back you are but I don't think I can do this on the phone. You know safety first."

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's what your motivation...Safety." He teased.

My words stuck in my throat. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't ready to admit that I wanted to see him but he was definitely calling me out.

"Naomi, are you there?" He asked when I said nothing.

I was searching my brain for a witty response when my prayers were answered. It came in the form of a billboard. "No, Jake, my motivation for getting off this road for a bit, is Ice Cream."

"Ice Cream?"

"Yeah, I just saw a sign for Dairy Queen. It's at exit 284, have you passed that yet?"

"Uh, hold on let me see what this one is." I smiled to myself, knowing I had dodged a bullet before he spoke again. "No, I'm about 10 miles back. It won't take me long to get there."

"It better not. A girl can only wait for so long with that much sweetness around."

"Sure, Sure. Just park where I can find you. See ya in a minute." We said our goodbyes and hung up.

I actually squealed out loud as I tossed my phone back to the seat beside me. My face was actually starting to hurt from smiling. I hadn't stopped grinning since he answered the phone. Yep, there was no denying it; I liked Jake.

I drove to the Dairy Queen that was listed on the billboard. I was happy to see they had tables set up outside because there was absolutely no way there would be ice cream in my car, and I was fairly certain that Jake would feel the same way. I scoped out the tables trying to find just the perfect one. I wanted one that was out of the way but that he'd be able to see me at as he drove up.

I think the realization that I might actually like Jake changed my entire thought process. When I saw him the other times I was just some random chick that he bumped into a couple of times. We sat around, shot the shit and goofed off. But now I had admitted it to myself that there was something more there. Now all I could think about was how he was going to see me. I was completely worried about saying something stupid or dorky and embarrassing myself. I didn't even want to start thinking about my clothes because I'm pretty certain I would have jumped in my car and drove for the hills. And these were just your basics insecurities. I had the added pleasure of being a hypocrite. I had to sit here and explain why I had run off without as much as a goodbye. I had judge and acted without actually thinking things through, only to find out that I was probably worse than Jake in the long run.

I sat down at my pre-approved bench and tried to reel myself back in from crazy-town. There was no need getting myself all worked up about Jake. I had to just try to remember how easy things were because thinking of anything else was nerve racking. I opted instead to think of all the yummy creations in DQ. I needed to figure out what form of decadence I was gonna enjoy.

My mind got lost in the world of creamy iced milk with all the toppings I could dream up. I didn't even notice Jake as he parked his car and made his way over to me. Jake folded himself into the little table and appeared to be about as nervous as I was. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," he replied cautiously, with a smile. I could tell he was trying to calm me down. I guess I wasn't playing it as cool as I thought. "So do, um, you wanna talk first or get something to eat."

"Eat?" I mocked, feigning disgust. "You don't _eat_ at DQ; you worship Ice Cream. It must be devoured properly to truly have that outer body experience.

"Ok, Ok. Oh, High Priestess of Parfaits." He joked. "What is your frozen confection of choice?"

We made our way inside, to order. We joined the line and I was bouncing in anticipation. I already knew exactly what I wanted and just needed the confused couple in front of us to hurry up. I must have complained out loud because I heard Jake's low chuckle behind me. "What? Did my inside voice escape again?" I asked looking back over my shoulder at him.

Before he could answer it was our turn. I didn't even give the counter-girl a chance to ask what I wanted. "Strawberry Shortcake Sundae."

"Excited, much?" He smirked. "You'll have to excuse her. She doesn't get out much." I noticed the girl behind her giggle and felt a smidge of jealousy over their interaction.

"Whatever man, just hurry up and order so I can get my noms on." I snarked. He winked at me and then placed his order. I dropped my head and starting fiddling with the edge of my shirt so he didn't see the smile that grew on my face. _That's right, girlie, you got no chance. _I thought to myself as the girl punched the register keys a little harder than necessary.

We grabbed our DQ creations and made our way back outside. I was happy to see our table was still available. I quickly settled down on the bench, setting my ice cream in front of me. I looked it over for a second before carefully dipping my spoon in, making sure to get just enough ice cream, strawberries and cake in my first bite. I took the spoon in my mouth and felt my eyes flutter closed as euphoria came over me. I moaned in pleasure and just sat with my eyes closed enjoying the flavors on my tongue. When I reopened my eyes, ready to dig in for the next bite I noticed Jake. He was staring at me with his mouth wide, spoon just in front of his face and eyes big saucers. "What?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Uh, nothing." he sputtered. "You just really enjoy your ice cream, don't you?" It was moments like these that I was glad I didn't blush. My eyes dropped from his face and I noticed him shift in his seat.

My mischievous side was ready to play; I really wanted to find out if I could make Jake blush. I raised my eyes again, locking quickly on his, as I dipped my spoon in my sundae. I brought the spoon up to my lips slowly. I swirled my tongue leisurely around the end of my spoon before taking it into my mouth. I wrapped my lips around it and hummed again before pulling the spoon out of my mouth. Jake sat motionless with his eyes focused on me.

"So, do you wanna taste?" I questioned as I took another slow bite of my ice cream.

It was so quiet I almost missed it when Jake said, 'Oh hell yeah.' I smiled inwardly and considered taking it further, but I was still new to all this flirting business and figured I'd quit while I was ahead.

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes; we just enjoyed our ice cream and snuck glances at each other. I knew I needed to get some things out but I wasn't quite sure how to start. I knew I couldn't stall any longer when he started scraping the bottom of his dish to get the last of his ice cream. He sat it down and looked at me expectantly.

"So?" he asked.

"Yeah, so." I shoved my last bite in my mouth, trying to get a few more seconds to gather my thoughts. "About earlier…well, err, I'm sorry."

He was shocked. "What are you sorry about?"

"Well, I'm sorry for a lot of things. I'm sorry that I freaked out and ran from you." I paused, looking at him for reassurance. I continued, "I'm sorry I ignored your texts when you tried to make things right. But most of all I'm sorry for being a hypocrite."

"What the hell? How are you a hypocrite?" he asked bewildered. "Care to explain that?"

With a deep breath, I started, "Well, you see, it's like this. You know how you said you saw me this morning BEFORE we met at Sonic?" I glanced up from my hands, just catching his nod. "Um, well I kinda saw you too."

"Oh really?" He leaned forward on his elbows. I could see a small glint in his eye and knew he wasn't going to make this easy on me. "Continue."

"Ugh! Come on, Jake you know what I mean." I whined.

"No, I really don't. What do you mean by you saw me?"

I was too much of a coward to look at him as I explained and instead focused my attention on the most uninteresting table pattern ever. "So it's like this. I remember stopping at the gas station this morning and well I saw you then too. Ok, so, I saw the car first but when I was inside I kinda, sorta noticed you too." I risked a glance at Jake and saw the knowing smirk on his face. "Any who, that was the end of that. But when I saw you at Sonic I did remember you and so yeah, that's what I mean by I saw you." Everything was silent. No one spoke. And the longer the silence went on, the more idiotic I felt. "So that's all I wanted to say. I just wanted to do it to your face, instead of punking out and sending it in a text. You've been so nice to me and I figured after my crazy reaction I felt you deserved it."

"Hmpf." That was it. The only sound Jake made. No raging. No laughter. Just a sound. I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't know whether to get up and go or stay and see what happened next. When I couldn't take it anymore I finally looked up and made eye contact. I was shocked to see that he was sitting there with a smug look on his face. "You done?" he asked.

"I guess." I replied not sure of what was coming next.

"That's it. That's why you're apologizing, because you saw me earlier too." He finally broke out into a full on belly laugh.

"Are you seriously laughing at me?" I asked.

"Well yeah. Naomi, you've been acting like you scratched my car or like you were gonna kill me or something. It's not that big a deal." He reached across the table and stilled my hands. "Naomi, really…I don't care."

I looked at his hand on mine. It's funny how such a small thing can mean so much once you've decided that you like 'liked' someone. I still didn't know how to process my epiphany about Jake, but I knew that I wanted more moments like this one. I must have looked like a freak staring down at his hand on my two because he suddenly pulled away.

The silence had returned but now it was just even more awkward. Looking at Jake, I knew that I wasn't the only one feeling it this time.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well I guess now that we have enough sugar running through our veins to keep us going for a bit, I guess we need to hit the road again."

Unable to hide my disappointment, I mumbled "Well, there's that."

"But I'm thinking it won't be nearly as lonely now." He winked at me.

"What ya mean?" I was totally lost now. "I'm still gonna be driving by myself so how is that not lonely."

"Yes, we will be in our own cars but so far our paths have been flowing together." He bumped my outstretched hand with his, before he continued. "I figured maybe we could put our phones on speaker then at least we can talk while we drive."

"Oh, I never thought of that"

"And, um," now Jake wouldn't make eye contact. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab dinner later on?"

This wasn't happening. I did not just get asked out by this random stranger I've been stalking since this morning. "Jake, you don't even know if we are going the same way. How do you know we'll still be close come supper time?"

"See that's the thing Naomi. I can go where I want." He smiled broadly. "Yes, eventually I need to get myself up to Washington…"

"Washington?" I shouted. "No way. Are you seriously driving to Washington? As in Washington State?"

Startled by my outburst, "Yeah, that's where I'm from. What's the deal?"

I tried to play it cool, even though I knew I was far from it. "Well you know how I told you I was heading to the west coast?" He nodded. "Well that's where I'm going."

"Well then looks like you've found yourself a travel buddy. That is if you'll have me?"

"Oh, I'll have you alright." It took my brain about 2 seconds to realize what I had just said. But there was nothing I could do now; it was out there and from the look in his eye, Jake heard it loud and clear.

"Good to know," he said with a nod. "Definitely good to know."

I relaxed further as I finally felt like we had returned to our playful nature. I don't know how I could have ever been worried about Jake. I almost let my freaky nature ruin the beginning of, well whatever was beginning here.

We sat for a few more minutes before collecting our trash and heading to our respective cars. "You do plan on answering the phone this time, don't ya?" He teased. "I mean you haven't run off in a sprint yet."

"Please tell me I didn't actually run the last time." I said, "I really wasn't thinking straight. This is all new to me."

"Nah, you didn't run." He said walking closer to me as we approached my Precious. "You just walked VERY fast," he said with a laugh as he nudged me with his elbow.

"Leave me be. I think it's time for you and your wit to head to your car." I gestured towards his car. "And yes, I will answer the phone. But I make no promises on not hanging up if you are gonna keep teasing me."

He started to back away but didn't make it very far. "Wait you never answered about dinner." He took a step back in my direction, before I held my hand out stopping him.

"Car! You said it was time to get rolling. So get!" I smiled and gave a small wave as I quickly got in my car and closed the door. He stood with his mouth poised to say something when I just held my hand to my ear making the universal signal for call me. I revved my engine and pulled out of my spot.

I knew it wouldn't take him long to catch up to me so I got rolling quickly. I hadn't even made it the two miles back to the highway entrance before my phone started to ring. I ignored it for a second, just to play with him. Everything had been going so smoothly and I figured he needed to sweat a little bit. I didn't want to appear easy, after all.

I smiled to myself as I ignored his repeated attempts to call. It was fun to be chased and as I looked in my mirror I could see I was being chased in more than one sense of the word. I could see his car moving swiftly through the traffic. I snatched up my phone and pressed his name to call him. I spoke as soon as the call connected, "Hey there. Have you seen the maniac in that Audi zigzagging through traffic?" I teased, "You might want to be careful. Some people are just crazy!"

"Oh you got jokes now," he laughed. "First you can't answer the phone, and now the jokes. What am I gonna do with you?"

"Well if I have to tell you then you're not exactly the man for the job, now are you!" I smiled broadly to myself. I didn't know where this side of me had been my whole life but I was thoroughly enjoying it now that it had made the appearance.

"You're a trip. Naomi. But I guess I deserve that one."

"Pretty sure that's not all you deserve." I mumbled.

"I didn't catch that…what did you say? Something about what I deserve?"

"None-ya." I answered. "If you miss it the first time, then you'll just have to use your imagination."

"You're gonna let me fill in the blanks with MY imagination," he ribbed. "You truly are a brave woman." I watched as he pulled up beside me and threw a quick wave. I wiggled my fingers and winked in return. He gave a head nod before he fell back in behind my car. "You lead, I'll follow."

"You're gonna let me lead? Now who's being brave." I smiled to myself at how easy things were with him. I finally clicked speaker on my phone and set it down on the console, settling back to chat with him as the miles went by.

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**Closing:** Oh, I don't know how long before my next update. Here's hoping it won't be too long. But I need to work on my other story. It's been nominated for an JBnP award (still smiley over that) and I need to get busy with it. Go check it out if you haven't already Crazy Side of Normal!


	5. Speed

**A/N: **Hey You Guys...I'm Back. I know it may seem like forever but I'm here now. And I've brought the longest chapter yet. I hope you enjoy. Loving each and every one of the reviews that you have left for me. It makes me spaz harder than watching an R8 blow me off the road. Ok, enough chatter...see ya on the other side. Smooches, Scrappy

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~ ~ ~ ~ ~DRIVE~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chatting the miles away with Jake was almost perfect. The only thing that would have made it better is if he was in my car. Wait scratch that, I really wanted us to be in his car. We had talked endlessly about the most mundane and random things. I had let my geek flag fly; talking about my love of action movies and video games. I don't think he knew what to make of it honestly. We got into arguments over who we thought the best character in X-men was and compared notes over our favorite games. We talked about our respective family drama here and there but we never stayed on the subject too long because it seemed that both of us had bits of stress woven through our past. When things got too deep we would head back to safe and simple or sometimes just plain absurd. I had grown quite comfortable with Jake over the past few hours. I've spent most of the day with him in one form or another. And when I wasn't talking with him he was all that was on my mind.

Two hours and almost 200 miles later I realized I was reaching my first hotel stop. When I started planning this trip I knew I had to have some sort of structure to it so I wasn't flying completely blind; I had made a few plans. If I was honest with myself, I wasn't as brave as I pretended to be and deep down I was really scared of what I was facing. So I did the safe, smart thing and plotted my driving route with hotels at specific spots along the way. It was a little regimented but I was only daring to a certain extent. I couldn't completely change my nature overnight.

I hadn't quite figured out what I was going to do about stopping just yet. My wicked, obsessive brain was starting to get fired up and I couldn't help but wonder what Jake would do? Did he already have a plan? And queue the crazy thoughts. According to Naggie, my navigation system, the hotel I booked was just over 30 miles ahead. I needed to make a decision about what to say to Jake quickly because I'd already paid for to the room and I was definitely spending the night there. I had chosen a really nice area. The hotel was close to the highway but it wasn't far from things to do. I had chosen it because it boasted a nice restaurant and a pool. I just needed to tell Jake that I would be stopping.

I waited for a lull in our conversation before I spoke up. "Well, J, it looks like it's about that time."

"What time is that?" he asked.

"It's time for me to stop driving. What do you have planned for the night? Are you going to keep driving?" As close as we had become, I still wasn't confident enough to just assume that he wanted to be with me.

"As I recall it, we were going to dinner," he replied optimistically. "I'm sure you didn't forget."

"Well a girl does have to eat, so I might as well go with my stalker."

"You know that's really smart of you. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your stalkers closer."

"Ok, stalker, did you have somewhere specific you were planning on stopping at or what?"

"Nimi, I do believe you're in lead. Why are you asking me so many questions? I told you, 'You lead, I follow'." I smiled to myself as he called me by my special nickname. What had started as a slip of the tongue was now his special name for me. Every time he used it I smiled a bit bigger.

"Ok well, I have a reservation at this hotel up the road. I don't know how much further you were planning on going but if you want we can hit the restaurant there. Or find something close by."

"Your hotel, huh?"

"Don't start, J. It's just where I'm spending the night."

"Oh, so now you want me to spend the night. Why I do declare…" Jake said with a fake, high pitched, southern accent.

"Moving on," I giggled. "I'm going to go there, you figure out what you want to do and let me know."

"I know what I want to do, Nimi." Jake's voice dropped low as he spoke, sending tingles through me. The innuendo in that statement hung heavy in the silence between us as I was struck dumb by visions of what I wanted. I took a deep breath, hoping that he would say something and say it quick or I might just say something stupid. I'm prone to stupid. "How about we just drive there and we'll see what happens."

I choked out an 'uh-huh', telling him to keep up as I focused on my driving. It wasn't too much longer before I was leading the way through the small city towards the hotel. I parked in a space and watched as he pulled in beside me. He was out of his car much faster than me and had come over opening my car door for me. I smiled up at him as I shuffled through the papers in my glove compartment. Once I had the reservation printout in my hand, I stood from the car. He didn't make room for me or move back but just stood there looking down at me. His close proximity stilled my breath for a second. "What's up?" I asked as my nerves spiked.

"Um, nothing." Jake stuttered and finally stepped back. We walked into the hotel lobby and he stood next to me as I checked in. It wasn't a huge resort hotel but it was very nice. The lobby was large and had huge chairs scattered around for socializing. After the clerk handed me my keycard, I turned to walk away thinking Jake would follow me. I stopped dead when I heard him asking if there were other rooms available, maybe one close to mine. I felt like my blood had turned to soda water, I was all tingly inside and it was an amazing feeling.

All my life I had hoped to connect with a man like this. I'd wanted someone I could talk to about all the random that my heart desired. But the man for me would look at my weirdness and still be interested. Looking at the hotel front desk as Jake received his key, I smiled. I didn't allow my brain to go any further down this road because it would lead to nothing but heartache. Striding my way, Jake returned the smile and flipping the keycard between his fingers with ease.

"So let's get our things up to the rooms and figure out what kind of trouble we can get into tonight. Shall we?" He cocked his elbow out to me like we were the couple in some 50's movie. I giggled but wrapped my small hand around his immense bicep. I couldn't resist the feel of him and found my thumb caressing the underside of his arm; his skin was so smooth I could have rubbed it for hours. We headed back to the cars and grabbed our respective overnight bags before heading up to our rooms. We reached the elevator, pressed the button and entered the large gold and mirrored box. I stood over to one side and waited as he pressed the button for our floor.

We stood on opposite sides of the elevator and it finally struck me that we hadn't said anything. We were just standing there looking at each other. I should have been nervous; never one to be comfortable with long periods of silence, especially not ones including a gorgeous hunk of man, but I wasn't. Jake smiled at me but still didn't say a thing. Jake's smiling at me while not saying anything was making me nervous. Dropping my eyes, I started fiddling with the luggage tag on my bag to keep from looking at him. I didn't have to look up to know that he was still staring at me. I couldn't imagine what he found so interesting that he just stood and stared at me but I was not about to ask. The quiet was broken by the ding of the bell announcing our arrival. What seemed like forever had only been about a minute.

As we approached our respective doors, my awkwardness grew. I had played a good game most of the day with all my cockiness and snarky comebacks but the bottom line was I was completely unsure of what to do next. I looked over to Jake as he leaned against his door jam. He was the epitome of calm, cool and collected as he stood leaning against the door frame, legs crossed at his ankles. "So?" I said unable to find anything intelligent to say.

"So," was the response Jake gave me with a smirk. I took a deep breath trying to woman up and say something but Jake beat me to the punch. "I guess we need to figure out where we are going to eat. Do you want to come over to my room so we can figure something out?"

My voice was stuck in my throat so I merely nodded and unlocked my room. I walked into my room setting my bag down and back out again before the door had a chance to swing closed. When I entered the hall Jake was gone. I was just about to knock on the door he had stood next to when I heard a knock from inside my room. My door had closed so I unlocked it again and went back inside. Once I was back in the room, I realized that in my haste to get back to Jake I had completely overlooked the door to the adjoining room. I opened it to see Jake standing there toeing the ground acting shy, "Hi, my name is Jacob and I'm your neighbor. I think you're real pretty and was wondering if you would go out with me?"

Trying to contain the giggling girl that was threatening to escape, I pushed Jake's shoulder watching as he faked stumbled backwards. I made my way into his room and tried to swallow my anxiety. Not sure of where I should sit, I went to the little desk in the room. Jake shuffled around his bags, pulled out his laptop and flopped down on the bed. With Jake working his way through Google we searched the surrounding area. WE finally decided to just head towards downtown and see what we could find. Things always sounded better on the internet than they turned out to be so we were going to just find something the old fashion way. After a bit of teasing, I headed back to my room to shower and change; it was time to become a girl.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ DRIVE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There was knock on my door a little over an hour after I left Jake's room. I was confused though as it wasn't the door we shared between our rooms but the one to the hall. I didn't know who it could be and approached it cautiously. I smiled and rolled my eyes when I opened the door and saw Jake standing in a pair of dark wash jeans and a starched button down shirt. Once I regained my composure, I took a second to enjoy the view. I couldn't get over how very long his neck was, with smooth unmarked skin disappearing under the collar of his shirt. He was so beautiful I felt insignificant standing next to him. I held up one finger and turned, going back in the room to grab my bag and shut off the TV. I glanced at the mirror as I passed and tried not to shake my head in disgust at my reflection.

The mood between us was a little weird as we made our way down the hall. It was obvious I wasn't the only one who was sensing that our friendship could be morphing into something more as the day went on. I kept noticing him looking at me as we walked down the hall to the elevator. He made me blush once or twice commenting on how pretty I was and like the dork that I was I said he was pretty too. I realized two seconds too late that it didn't quite work that way. It was at that moment that I decided to just keep the mouth shut as much as possible tonight.

Jake pulled out his keys as we made our way outside. I realized what was about to happen and stopped dead; my words escaping me in a rush, "HOLY SHIT!"

"What?" Jake said as he spun around looking for the problem. I watched him turn in a complete circle as I stood motionless. "Say something, Nimi. What's wrong?"

"Your car…" Spinning like a ballerina he whipped around to see what was wrong with the car. The sight of him skimming his hand over his silver beauty looking for a ding or scratch broke my paralysis. "No, Jake, there's nothing wrong with it. I guess it just hit me." He looked at me quizzically. "Well, remember how this whole day started with my obsession over your car. I guess I just realized that I'm actually going to be getting in YOUR car."

"Of course, we're getting in my car." He stood next to the car he was used to, my dream car, and casually opened the door for me. "I'm taking you to dinner; did you think we were driving separately?"

I didn't speak, I couldn't; I was lost to the beauty in front of me. I could feel his eyes on me but I didn't care. Making my way to the car, I slid my hand over the smooth leather of the headrest before sinking down into the bucket seat on the passenger side. I looked up meeting Jake's eyes, searching for permission to continue my love affair with his car's interior. With a smile and a shake of his head, he closed the door and made his way around to the driver's side. My hand hovered over the dash not daring to touch it, making a smooth journey down and over the middle console. I wanted to push every button, to see all the bells and whistles that I was sure this car had. I didn't even acknowledge Jake as he got in and sat down next to me. I was awe struck. My hands had made my way down the console and I just stopped. "Can I touch it?"

Jake threw back his head and howled in laughter. "What?" I asked not fully understanding what was so funny.

Speaking between bouts of laughter, Jake spoke. "Did you really just ask me if you could touch it?" He couldn't even say the words, so he just motioned to his gear stick. It took me a second to realize what I had said and then the rush of blood to my face was instant. "Oh dear God, Nimi, you are fucking amazing. You know how to make a guy's night for sure. I will replay this over and over. There is nothing better than being asked by a hot girl if she can touch your stick. "

I wanted to sit back and sulk because I truly didn't mean it that way. But his laugh was contagious. I couldn't be mad at him for teasing me. It didn't take long for me to start laughing myself. My budding relationship with this silver beauty wasn't over just yet but the spell was broken for the time being. "Oh shut it Jake, and take me to get some food."

Eating with Jake had become the most natural thing. Talk, joke, laugh, and watch his amazing skills at inhaling half the menu. The restaurant never really mattered much to either of us; food was food and as long as it wasn't completely inedible we would enjoy the meal. After finishing our meals, we sat for a while just enjoying each other's company. That is, until we noticed that the staff was anxiously milling around waiting for us to finish. "I think they want us to leave, Jake." I leaned in not truly whispering.

"I think you're right." He quickly stood, having already paid the bill, and walked directly over to the waiting staff. Moving one by one, he made his way down the line saying goodbye to each of them as if he was leaving his best friends in the world. I stood near the door trying not to lose it. Once he had finally hugged, fist bumped or air-kissed his way around the room, he made his way to the front door. Opening the door, he turned to the smiling staff and bellowed, "I will miss you all. Remember me."

I had a feeling there was a full speech about to begin so I gently looped my finger in his back pocket and pulled my theatrical friend out of the restaurant. He stumbled out, blowing kisses and doing his best pageant wave until the door closed. I let him go, laughing at him. "You really know how to make your mark, don't you?"

"Hey, it's a good thing to make people smile. It's what I do." He leaned forward and down so that he could see my face. "See you're smiling."

"Ok Sir Smile-a-lot. What's next?"

"Well I had one thing I was thinking of doing but I don't know if you're up to it. I mean it's not for the faint at heart. I know I've gotten to know you today, but I'm still not sure you can handle what I'm thinking about."

I didn't really know what to take from this. I mean most things that came out of his mouth were utter bullshit but he had a point, I really didn't know him. "Um, should I be scared?" I asked trying to fluff over my real fear.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see if you are all talk." Jake slung his huge arm over my shoulder as we walked pulling me closer to him.

Taking three steps to his one, I was amazed how natural everything seemed with him, how wonderful we fit together. There was that 'US'-train again; I really needed to stop reading into everything. I mean I had to keep reminding myself that there was no 'us'. We had only just met earlier today and this wasn't some crazy Lifetime love story, where people met and fell in love all in an afternoon. I decided then and there that I really needed to keep this in the forefront of my mind as the night went on.

We walked the few blocks back to the Jake-approved parking lot. I had whined mercilessly when we drove around for what felt like hours, searching for a place to leave his treasure on wheels. He took my grumbling in stride because he knew that if things were reversed he would have doing the very same thing. We loved our cars and we knew that everyone who saw them loved them, too, but that didn't mean we wanted them to get too close when we weren't around. So we drove around the downtown area until we found a spot.

I was still amazed as I got into the car for the second time tonight. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever get used to riding in his car. I sat back in the car enjoying the sounds and feel of his car. The engine roared to life when he turned it on and then settled into a soft purr as we idled and moved slowly through the city traffic. I watched Jake as he maneuvered his way through the twists and turns of the town. Slowly the lights of the city fell away and the trees of the country took their place. We drove and drove. No words were spoken other than the lyrics to the songs coming through the car speakers. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to just feel the motion of the car, but soon realized that it was so smooth I felt nothing except the slight shift of my body as we went around turns. I opened my eyes and watched as the shapes of the trees flew by faster and faster until it was nothing but a blur in the darkness. My eyes could barely register the road anymore. "Fuck Jake, how fast are we going?"

"Fast enough to make you to say 'fuck'." He smiled, sneaking a quick glance over at me. "But if you really want to know, I took her up to about 160 mph." My breath stuck, my eyes widened and the look of amazement was completely unmistakable. "I guess you weren't ready for that."

"You're serious?" I leaned over the middle console so that I could see the speedometer. "Holy Hell, you really are driving that fast. This is amazing. It feels, it feels; I have no words." Mistaking my excitement for fear, he started to apologize.

I waved him off not sure I could speak. "For fucks sake, Don't Stop Jake!" I demanded. Reaching down I turned the music up louder before sitting back into my seat. Without thinking, I reached over the middle console looking for his hand because this was freaking me out a little bit. I didn't realize both of his hands were on the wheel so I ended up grabbing his thigh. For a split second I would have sworn I heard him growl, but that wouldn't make sense. I chalked the unknown sound up to the music.

As we drove, I found myself sneaking peeks over at Jake. He was in his element. The glow from the car's console lit up his face, giving off just enough light to make his eyes sparkle. Both of his hands were on the steering wheel and his muscles flexed minutely with each turn. He was concentrating, focused and completely in control. But most of all, he was sexy as hell.

A sign flashed in the darkness so fast that I couldn't make out what it said but I noticed the car was slowing down. "What's up? Why are we stopping?"

The car came to a complete stop and Jake still hadn't said a word. He shut the car off but didn't turn off the lights. All those thoughts I had earlier of him being a serial killer popped back in my head; I didn't really know him and now I was out in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, and no one knew a thing. I felt my fear spike but tried to talk myself through the panic attack. He quietly got out of the car and it took everything in my power to not lock the doors. I wanted to but realized he had the keys so it wouldn't have mattered. He opened my door and extended his hand down to me. There was nothing I could do so I allowed him to help me out of the car. I stood up fully and was boxed in; the car behind me and his open arms in front of me. I stood trapped, not sure what was going to happen.

Jake looked down on me and I could see his internal debate clearly in his eyes. I tried to stay cool and just wait him out. I had my own internal monologue going…_Was he gonna kiss me or kill me? Would anyone notice? Would anyone care? Why are you being such an idiot, he's not gonna kill you, you've been seen all over town with him! Well then shit, is he REALLY gonna kiss me, maybe that's worse. I can't fuck up being killed._ My ramblings came to a screeching halt when I felt his warm hand clasp mine. My eyes ping-ponged between looking at him and looking at our hands, trying desperately to get a read on what he was thinking. I was so focused on the soft stroking of his thumb against the back of my hand that I missed what he said. "Huh? Did you say something?"

"I said," he smiled, "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

"Do what?" There was no denying the uneasiness in my voice.

Slowly he leaned in until his mouth was right next to my ear. My anxieties were on overdrive. Our bodies were so close that with every breath I took I could feel my chest brush against his. Softly he whispered, "Would you…." He faded off.

I held my breath when he stopped mid-sentence. "Would I what, Jake?" I held my breath unsure of what he was going to ask. Jake didn't move, he didn't say a word. He just stood with his mouth next to my ear; his warm breath flowing across my neck and cheek on every exhale. "Just ask me, J."

He pulled back from me until he could see my face. Still no words came. His eyes were so full of confusion and I could tell he was just as nervous as me. With a deep breath, he finally spoke, "Maybe I need to slow down a bit. Don't want to move too fast, you know."

I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile, so he would continue. "Or you could just finish what you started."

"Damn, I didn't think it would be this hard." He exhaled. "Ok, here goes. Would you….like," he closed his eyes and took another deep breath before finally blurting out, "Would you like to drive my car?"

Now it was my turn to say nothing. I was in shock. My tongue felt like it was actually in a knot as I tried to speak, "Say that again? Slowly this time, because there's no way I heard that right."

His smile broadened as I focused on his mouth just in case my ears really weren't working right. Slowly, Jake repeated, "Would you," pointing to me "like to drive," he mimed steering, "my car?"

With an ear-splitting scream, I threw my arms around his neck. Bouncing up and down I squealed, "Yes! Yes! Oh My God! Yes!"

"Ok, let go before you break me, Little Bit. Here," he said as he held the keys out to me. He cringed slightly as I grabbed them and bolted towards the driver's side. "Oh Hell, what was I thinking," he mumbled to himself. He slowly folded his large body into the passenger seat and tried to play it cool as he watched me take control of his prize possession.

I got in the driver's side and then froze. I couldn't believe it; I was sitting behind the wheel of my dream car. My hands slowly caressed the smooth cover on the steering wheel; rubbing all the way around it marveling at the beauty in front of me. I thought the car was amazing from the passenger side but being in the driver's seat was damn near orgasmic. Without turning it on, I gingerly place my left hand on the top of the steering wheel. Imagining what it will be like once I do finally rev the car up, I slowly rub the palm of my right hand around the knob of the gear shaft. Stroking the gearstick from top to bottom I can't contain the moan of enjoyment any longer. My eyes snapped over to Jake when I heard a guttural 'Fuck me' slip out. He tried to be inconspicuous as he tugged at his pants, adjusting his manhood. I decided to mess with him a little bit rubbing up and down the gear shaft making sure to circle my palm around the top on each upward stroke. His eyes followed the motion of my hand as if he's in a trance. "Are you alright, J?"

"Huh." Snapping himself back to reality, "Sure, Sure. I'm good. So do you plan on driving or just molesting my car?"

The reality of what I was about to do hit me like I was a crash test dummy. This car was worth more than I ever hopped to make in my life and I was about to drive it. Now that it's actually happening I didn't know if I was ready. I started to second guess everything. My brain went into overdrive as normal, running down every possible bad scenario that could happen. It was times like this I wished I just had your everyday angel and devil on my shoulder like the rest of the world; I'm not so lucky I have a Nagging Nanny to put my brain through a workout before every decision I face.

Reaching down to my lap, I tentatively pick up the keys. The keys on his key ring jingle as I raise my hand to start the car. I can't stop shaking. With less than an inch between the key and the slot I stop. Defeated, I give into my nervousness. I drop my hand back to my lap, and mumble, "I guess I'll be sticking to molesting."

Frustrated with myself, I placed the keys on the middle console and got out of the car. I closed the door and just stood in the dark with my hands on the roof of my dream car. Jake quickly followed me out of the car and made his way around to the driver's side. I could feel him standing behind me but I was too embarrassed to face him. "Hey, I get it," he tried to console me. I felt the weight of his hands on my shoulders. "It's not a big deal, Naomi."

"You don't get it, Jake." I didn't know why it was hitting me so hard but I could feel my eyes stinging with unshed tears. "I've dreamed of this car for so long and now that I have this once in a lifetime chance to drive it…I punk out." I tried to play it off and laugh at myself, but it just came out sounding weak and pathetic. "What's that about?"

Jake spun me around and looked down at me. "Hey, you're blowing this all out of proportion." His hand made its way from my shoulder to the base of my neck. I could feel his hand cupping the side of my face and slowly tilting my face up to his. Looking up, I could barely make out his features in the dark. I could feel his breath breeze across my face as he moved in closer, dropping his voice lower he whispered, "Just relax. When it's meant to happen, it will happen."

* * *

Not much to say. Just Smooches to you All. Scrappy


	6. Open Doors

**A/N:** Well surprise, surprise...I'm back. As usual I didn't make it back when I promised but as usual I DID come back. And just so you know, I always will come back...no matter how long it takes.

I decided to put the last bit from the previous chapter up only because it's been FOREVER and it might help jog your memory. I liked this chapter just and I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter. So if you can find it in you...let me know what ya think. I'll see ya on the other side. MWAH, Scrappy

* * *

_Reaching down to my lap, I tentatively pick up the keys. The keys on his key ring jingle as I raise my hand to start the car. I can't stop shaking. With less than an inch between the key and the slot I stop. Defeated, I give into my nervousness. I drop my hand back to my lap, and mumble, "I guess I'll be sticking to molesting."_

_Frustrated with myself, I placed the keys on the middle console and got out of the car. I closed the door and just stood in the dark with my hands on the roof of my dream car. Jake quickly followed me out of the car and made his way around to the driver's side. I could feel him standing behind me but I was too embarrassed to face him. "Hey, I get it," he tried to console me. I felt the weight of his hands on my shoulders. "It's not a big deal, Naomi."_

_"You don't get it, Jake." I didn't know why it was hitting me so hard but I could feel my eyes stinging with unshed tears. "I've dreamed of this car for so long and now that I have this once in a lifetime chance to drive it…I punk out." I tried to play it off and laugh at myself, but it just came out sounding weak and pathetic. "What's that about?"_

_Jake spun me around and looked down at me. "Hey, you're blowing this all out of proportion." His hand made its way from my shoulder to the base of my neck. I could feel his hand cupping the side of my face and slowly tilting my face up to his. Looking up, I could barely make out his features in the dark. I could feel his breath breeze across my face as he moved in closer, dropping his voice lower he whispered, "Just relax. When it's meant to happen, it will happen."_

~ ~ ~ ~DRIVE~ ~ ~ ~

My breath froze in my throat as I felt Jake pull me closer to him. I wanted to relax. I wanted to just let everything happen but as he brought me to him and my hands found his chest, my brain started its musings. _Holy Hell, is this really happening. This wasn't real. Shit like this doesn't happen to you. You're the fuck up. You're that girl who never does anything right. It's only a matter of time before you fuck this up too__**.**_ "Stop!" Before I realized what had happened, I felt Jake stiffen.

"I'm sorry Naomi," he mumbled as he started to pull away. "I just thought…"

"Wait, what?" I questioned him, confused by what was NOT happening. My brained scrambled trying to figure things out. I knew I was having an internal battle but I was pretty certain it had remained internal. I squeezed my eyes shut before asking, "Jake, please tell me I didn't say that out loud?!"

He chuckled, "Well you said 'stop' so I figured you weren't feeling this." He waved his finger back and forth between us and then waited for the understanding to hit me.

My eyes widened at the thought that he was feeling whatever was sparking between us, too. I tried to speak but of course when I wanted my mouth to work, it wouldn't. It was one thing to admit my attraction to Jake to myself but to actually tell him that I was feeling something left me speechless. I finally squeaked out, "Uh, I wasn't really talking to you."

Jake looked around dramatically before leaning in and whispering, "Well if you weren't talking to me, then who were you talking to? Is there someone I don't see?" He flashed me a smile and whispered, "Protect me, Nimi."

As he pulled me tighter into his body, he pretended to be scared. I only hand one thing on my mind, I needed to gag my 'inner-voice'. Hoping that Jake would notice how close we were again; I focused on his lips, willing him to continue what I had stupidly interrupted earlier. He mumbled something as he moved in closer but I was beyond understanding. I felt him nudging my nose with his. His lips were so close, but he was moving agonizingly slow. He was so close that I could feel the feather light touch of his lips as he spoke, "It's too late to stop me now, Naomi."

I smiled but never had a chance to speak as he closed the final distance between our mouths. His lips were silky smooth and he tasted of peppermint. I moaned softly as he worked his mouth against mine. I felt his lips curve into a smile for a second. He pulled away slightly so he could see me. I watched as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth tasting the last of our kiss; humming in pleasure. It was only a moment before he pulled me back in to kiss me even more thoroughly.

As we wrapped our arms around each other, I was in awe of how right everything felt. He broke our kiss when the need for oxygen became overwhelming and worked his way down my cheek to my neck as we tried to catch our breath. The high-beams of an oncoming car interrupted our private moment as we were lit up. Frozen in the glare, we shielded our eyes as the passing driver honked his approval of our make out session. Giggling like a shy schoolgirl, I buried my face in his chest. Once the car had faded off into the night, Jake unwrapped himself from around me. He took my hand in his and pulled me along as he jogged back around the car. "Let's get out of here."

He opened the passenger door, helping me in after he snuck a quick kiss. As I watched him jog in front of the car headlights, I touched my fingertips to my lips that were still tingling from our first kisses. Amazingly, things with Jake had progressed so smoothly and so quickly but I wouldn't change a thing. It boggled my mind that this had all happened in a single day.

Jake rounded the car and opened the driver's side door. He attempted to get in but cracked his knee on the steering wheel then he remembered I had adjusted his seat before my failed attempt at driving his car. With a curse he stood back up and bent over reaching down to push the seat back again. "Damn woman, you trying to break me?"

Wiggling my eyebrows at him, I give him a wink. "I can't break you just yet, we're just getting started."

He revved the engine and looked back over his shoulder before flooring the gas pedal. We shot forwards only for him to some quick shifting and spin us around, heading us back towards town. Watching him work this car was hot and I had to clench my thighs together just to contain the throbbing that hit my core. As we picked up speed, I found myself blurting out, "Did you know your car is a Decepticon?"

Jake looked at me confused for a second. "Decepticon? As in a Transformer…from the movie?"

My inner geek smiled big as I went on to educate him, "Yeah, it was in the second movie. It wasn't in the film for long. Honestly, I was truly pissed when everything went down but it's still pretty cool. Do you wanna know what his name was?"

"Sure, dork, enlighten me," he teased. His hand slid over the dash before he continued, "Who knows maybe I'll think of changing her name. Provided it fits."

"Well not sure if it will work for your 'girl' here. But in the movie **his** name was Sideways. He could have been awesome but they kind of made him look like a punk, running away when the going got tough."

"I'm so not naming my car after a punk. And dare I ask how you know this?"

"Ok so don't judge me because I know this. I mean I'm going full on geek here." I looked over at him and he just smiled for me to continue. I proceeded to explain in vivid detail all that I knew about the world of Transformers and Decepticons. He was completely focused on every word I said and I to my astonishment, he never laughed once. Most people always laughed when I showed this side of me.

When I finished, he mulled the name over. "Sideways, huh?"

"Yep, Sideways. You never said what do you call your car anyway?"

It was Jake's turn to show his geeky side. I smiled as he went into a vivid explanation about how he thought one of the best movies ever was Vendetta. On and on he went about how 'V' was so much like him and how he was feeling at that point in his life. His excitement over this movie had me entranced and in awe of him. I had watched it and enjoyed it but the way he spoke about it made me want to see it again. For once I was happy when my brain took me on a side trip, fading off into a vivid picture of Jake and I curled up together watching this movie he loved so much. "And so I decided that I would call her Evey, Evey the Audi."

Smiling over at him, I admitted that I liked the name. When I couldn't think of anything else to talk about I relaxed back into the seat and just let him take me for a ride. It took me a second to realize that the lack of conversation was not the uncomfortable silence everyone dreads, but it just felt good being close to him. As I sat there, I felt him take my hand in his and I felt my heart skip a beat at the contact.

I couldn't help but wonder why everything felt so natural with him; not to mention how intense it was. I had never really clicked like this with anyone before. We had so many similarities and even our few differences seemed to work well together. My brain starting running through all the lovers in the many books I spent my free time with and I realized that what I was feeling with Jake was the same thing those authors wrote about.

All too soon, we pulled up at the hotel. Even though this was the hotel I had chosen and there was nothing romantic behind it, my nerves still made an appearance. I gathered up my purse and opened my door before Jake managed to make his way over. I knew he intended on being a gentleman and opening my door but with my anxiety rising I couldn't sit still any longer.

Walking up to the curb, he gently took my hand in his. We strolled slowly into the hotel, making our way through the lobby and to the elevators. As we entered the elevator, I couldn't help but remember how different everything was just hours before. There was still a silence as the doors closed us in together but it was completely different from the first time. This trip up to our rooms, Jake stood leaning against the mirrored wall with his legs open so I could get closer to him. He didn't kiss me but his eyes never left mine and he gently caressed my face and played with my hair while we rode up to our floor. I tried to lose myself in what he was doing, focusing only on feeling his hands on me, but was slowly failing; Nagging Nanny was just warming up in my brain.

The ding announcing our floor broke me from my spiral into self-doubt. I stepped out of Jake's embrace and started down the hall to our connecting rooms. I didn't make it two steps before I felt his fingers trace down my arms as he went to take my hand again. I made it to my door way faster than the last time which only proved that not only my mind was moving fast but also my body. But once I was standing in front of the door, I didn't know what to do next.

I could feel him standing close behind me; he was close enough that on his exhale I felt a few of my hairs rustle from his breath. I shoved things around in my purse trying to find my keycard. As I tried to stay calm, cool and collected, I braced myself for what may come next. Jake spoke softly like he was trying not to scare the shy kitty away, "Nimi, um, did you want to hang out a little longer?"

"Um, I," turning around to face him, my thoughts scrambled and my breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him. Trying to regain control, I muttered, "Well maybe for a little bit. Let me go dump my stuff."

"Cool, well you know where to find me. Come over whenever." Jake gave me a small smile and stepped over to his door. He pulled his keycard out of his back pocket and we both entered our respective rooms like synchronized swimmers breaking the surface of the water.

I closed the door behind me and started to giggle. It wasn't exactly the nervous, giddy schoolgirl laugh, but a mixture of that and a 'what the hell was I doing' laugh. I had never done anything like this before in my life. I wasn't exactly Miss Popularity when it came to the male sex and this was just so out of the norm for me that I didn't exactly know how to move forward; I didn't know if I wanted to.

Deep inside my mind, Nagging Nanny cleared her throat and got ready to hit me with all the what-if's, but's and oh so many reasons why this might not be a good thing. I moved further into my room, pitching my purse on my bed and sliding out of my shoes. I kept forcing myself to think through every action I made only to keep my subconscious from getting on her soapbox and turning me into a confused, babbling idiot. It was asinine that I had to concentrate so hard on my simple actions just to keep control, but it proved that on some level I really wanted to spend more time with Jake and that I wasn't going to do my normal 'run for the hills' move.

I stood over my bag and tried to decide what or if I was going to change. I didn't want to send any signals I wasn't ready to follow through on. I stood there for what seemed like an hour, shuffling around the clothes I had in my small bag then looking down at what I was wearing. In the end, I decided that what I was wearing was pretty casual so there wasn't a need to change.

I headed to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. I tried not to analyze myself in the mirror because I knew that no matter what I would never see myself clearly. I took a deep breath and turned away from the mirror. I shut the light off and headed toward the connecting door.

Standing next to the interior door, I tried to find the courage to knock; standing silently, my hand hovering but not moving. I could hear the muffled sounds of his TV from under the door but he didn't seem to be moving around much. I got distracted by the sounds and stalled even longer trying to figure out what it was he was watching. _Oh for fuck's sake, piss or get off the pot Naomi. _Startled by the voice in my head, I snapped back to reality.

Since I was failing at knocking, I decided to just try the door. I reached for the door handle for my side of the connecting doors and opened it. I was certain it was gonna be locked but his door was already open for me. He smiled over at me from his place on the bed. "Hey."

"Hi." I stood there for a second not sure where I should go. I didn't know whether act brave and go lie next to Jake who was sitting in his bed with his laptop or take the easy way out by sitting in the chair next to a little table on the far side of the room. In the end, I didn't have to decide as Jake called me over to him.

"Come here and check this out." He smiled at me and pointed to his laptop screen. "I figured since we were travelling the same direction and neither of us is on any sort of time frame, that maybe we could have our own National Lampoon's Vacation."

Hesitantly, I made my way up on the bed next to Jake. I tried to get comfortable and keep from twitching, so I curled my leg underneath me. I had to move in closer to him than I had planned just so that I could see the screen. When I was close enough, I could just make out that he was surfing different links for the weird and amusing all over America. "Are you serious?"

"Sure, why not?" he said confidently. "Haven't you ever wanted to see the World's Largest Rubberband collection?" I just shook my head at his nonsense but I couldn't help but be intrigued by what he was pulling up. Site after site of the most crazy, disturbing and mind boggling places all over America. There were a few that peaked both of our interest and we bookmarked those so we could plan our route later.

I don't know when it happened but at some point in our search of the bizarre my head had found a comfortable spot on his shoulder. He never moved me and we stayed like that, just surfing and laughing. When I heard the theme song for one of my favorite TV shows come on I reached out to lower the laptop lid and yelled, "Sheldon!"

"No, name's Jake. Pretty sure I told you that earlier."

Smacking him in the chest I pointed to the TV, "No Dork, on the show."

He just laughed but shut the laptop completely; setting it down on the floor beside him. In a smooth move, Jake shut off the side lamp and shifted both us around snuggling us down into the pillows so we could watch the TV show. I could feel his hand gently stroking my hair. With each stroke of his hand, I could feel my heart begin to pound stronger in my chest. I hadn't lain in a bed with a man in what felt like forever; and never a man like Jake. I can't help but wonder what this is leading to.

I shifted my head, trying to be subtle as I looked up at Jake only to find him staring at me. He smiled guiltily when I noticed he wasn't watching TV but didn't speak. He gently took my chin and lifted my face to his. His eyes slide down my face to focus on my lips and then slowly back up to meet my stare. With a smile he closed the distance and our lips connected. The shiver I felt roll down my spine was intoxicating and left me yearning for more. I wanted so much more of this man.

I pushed forward needing to get closer to Jake. He shuffled slightly; at first I thought he was moving away but when he was finally flat on his back and gently pulled me further up his chest. I didn't allow him to pull me all the way up over him because I knew that I would turn in to a shameless hussy and grind myself all over this luscious man. It had been way too long to since kissing someone like this; longer still since I felt the persistent throbbing between my thighs. If I was honest with myself even my ex didn't stir feelings in me like Jake did. I needed to maintain a small amount of control or I wouldn't be able to stop myself.

Our kisses were hot and needy. When I pulled away to catch my breath, Jake took the opportunity to roll me over so I was underneath him. I sucked in a breath as he settled his body over mine. Jake quickly pushed himself up on his arms, "Am I too heavy?"

I smiled at his concern but shook my head slightly, honestly loving the way his body pressed mine deeper into the mattress. My hands went around his neck playing with his silky hair before I gave a little tug and Jake brought his lips back to mine. My hands smoothed over his shoulders and down around to his chest. My fingertips dug lightly into his pecs. My hands continued their journey along his body as I wrapped my arms under his huge arms and around to his back. I slowly worked his shirt upwards; pulling at it gently until I could feel his skin. Jake had worked his mouth down to my neck and was placing open kisses all along the bits of skin he could reach. I froze, like a kid with my hand in the cookie jar, when I heard him speak, "Nimi, if you want it off, all you have to do is ask?"

My face flushed with the heat of my embarrassment and I buried my face in his neck. I felt his chest shake lightly as he laughed. When I regained my composure, I pushed his shirt further up his back and waited as he raised himself to take it completely off. He didn't move but watched me as I my eyes molested his body. His hand was resting on my hip, with his thumb stroking gently back and forth just underneath the hem of my shirt. My fingers reached up and ran from his long neck down the center of his chest stopping just above his jeans. He sucked in a breath with a hiss and his hand clenched against my hip. I couldn't help but be proud of the effect I was having on him.

Looking up at Jake, I saw how his tongue stroked his bottom lip as he stared down at me. I heard my lust for him speak before my mind could censor anything, "Jake, if you want it off, all you have to do is ask?"

His eyes snapped up to mine and I wiggled my eyebrows once giving a naughty smile. Taking his hand from my hip, Jake wasted no time working his way down the buttons of my blouse. When he finally reached the last button, the butterflies took flight deep within me. This was the moment every woman dreaded; no matter how beautiful a woman was when a sexy man was about to undress her, she got worried. I swallowed deep and closed my eyes so he wouldn't see my fear.

He moved his hand moved slow, starting underneath the collar of my shirt. Allowing only his fingertips to touch me, he traced the edge of my bra strap downwards until he found the lace of my bra. I kept my eyes closed and focused everything on the warmth of his skin on mine. He brushed his palm lightly over my breast before taking the heft of it in his hand. His thumb ran back and forth across my tight peak and my body arched upwards. I needed him closer and my hands shot out pulling him back to me trapping his hand between us.

My senses were overwhelmed by all things Jake. All I could taste was his him and the freshness of toothpaste. I felt his warm strong hands stroking my skin causing me to break out goose bumps. His light cologne was quickly replaced with a wonderful musky smell that was all male. When I could manage to keep my eyes open, dark smooth skin covered a physic that would make the God's jealous. And the sounds of his pleasure mingling with mine, created an absolutely beautiful and erotic melody. He was giving me everything and yet my body still craved more.

My mind floated into a fantasy of what my life could be if I could stay wrapped up in Jake like this, forever; then reality hit me. I could not honestly be fantasizing about having more time with this man I met driving down the highway. The anxiety hit so hard that even Jake felt it. His movements slowed and I could feel him pull away so that he could look at me. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I smiled trying hard not to ruin the moment but one look at the alarm on his face told me that I already had. Everything was going too fast; it was too much. I didn't want to look like the naïve little girl pretending I was a woman of the world, so I looked up at him and I lied, "I'm sorry. I guess the exhaustion just snuck up on me."

"Exhaustion, huh?" He searched my eyes trying to see the truth but I just smiled weakly and shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

"No really. Not to mention we have a lot of driving ahead of us. Who knows what the road ahead holds for us?" I smiled trying to lighten the mood but I knew I had blown it and all that was left was for me to tuck tail and run. I could tell that Jake was upset and it was all because of me. He had rolled to his back and was staring at the ceiling. I didn't know what to say or do to fix this. I could feel the tears building behind my eyes and knew I needed to make myself scarce before I embarrassed myself further. "So, yeah, I guess I'll head to bed."

Before I could move off the bed, he reached for me and grabbed me by my hand, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

For a second I thought maybe Jake was upset over more than just being shut down by a girl, but then I came back to reality. I smiled and leaned into him for a kiss trying to fake the confidence I wished I had as I reassured him, "This is just about sleep, Jake. So yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

My plans for a simple peck were thwarted as Jake took matters into his own hands. The kiss he gave me possessed something more; something I couldn't explain. It was almost like he was trying to show me that as much as he wished I would stay in bed with him, he understood I needed to go. When he finally pulled away, he stood from the bed and reached for me. I looked at him like he was crazy and he explained, "What, I just wanna make sure that you get 'home' okay."

I huge smile broke across my face and I debated seriously about pulling him back into bed. Stopping the thought before it could grow into more; I placed my hand in his. I let him pull me out of bed and walk me to the opening between our rooms. Taking my face in his hands he gave me a last kiss goodnight and I walked into my room. I stood with the door cracked for a second more, taking a mental picture of him standing shirtless before me. With a kiss to my fingertips, I waved goodnight and closed the door between us. I flipped my lock and stood there for a second waiting to hear his door close as well but it never came. His open door spoke volumes to a girl like me, who over-analyzed everything, but I refused to let myself believe any of it.

I made my way to my bed and was instantly overwhelmed by how lonely I felt. I knew his door was still open; that all I had to do was open it and he would let me back in, but my inner demons had reared their ugly heads and I would never expose this side of myself to him. I crawled up into my bed, curled around my pillow and let the voices take over. I was too tired to fight Nagging Nanny anymore, so I resigned myself to what was to come. I closed my eyes and waited for all the negativity to flow free. _You can't honestly believe that a man like him actually wants someone like you. Why would he? He's beautiful and you're….well you're YOU. Maybe you should pull your sweats back on and go find a boyfriend that will accept you in one of those books you love so much. Those are the only men who will ever want someone who doesn't take care of herself. I mean you could at least try to look and act like a girl, maybe THEN you'd deserve someone like Jake. _And on and on the voices went. This was my lullaby; this was what went through my head every night. This was the real me. I had heard these horrid things for so many years from the people closest to me. These were the things the people who supposedly loved me unconditionally said to me. If they said it, then their words must be true.

There were no tears as the dark thoughts settled over me like a blanket; resigned myself to them. Sleep never found me and eventually I got out of bed. I headed t to the bathroom hoping that a warm shower would relax me enough that I might sleep. As I entered the tiled room, the oversized mirror greeted me. There was no escaping it so I looked hard at myself. I never considered myself ugly but I knew I wasn't what the world thought was pretty. I wore no make-up and my hair just fell how it may. I had never fussed around with it anymore. The one thing I did that could even be considered me taking an interest in my appearance was adding the bits of purple I had streaked through my locks.

I worked my way down my reflection taking in my clothes. They did nothing for my body. Well the clothes I covered myself in did serve one function; they definitely hid my imperfections. I made sure nothing hugged and of my softer areas; that no one would want to take lingering looks as I walked by. Basically, the image in front of me was that of a tom-boy; a body trapped in purgatory, not all girl and not all boy. It was just the visual presentation of everything I had ever been told, I needed a lot of work. My reflection only proved that my dreams of finding someone who thought I was enough were completely wrong; it showed me exactly what Mommy Dearest had always said was right, 'No man would ever want a girl like me.'

In a rush, I turned and slammed my hand down over the light-switch, plunging myself back into darkness. I was queen of the dark and not seeing things helped me deal with my life. I made my way through the hotel room and sat on the end of the bed. I looked at the door that separated my room from Jake's and my path became clear. I had to leave. This had been a beautiful day with a beautiful man and the ugliness inside me was going to ruin things in the long run. The longer I let myself live in this fantasy that Jake was actually meant for me, the harder it would be when he got what he wanted and drove off into the sunset. I had to go.

Like a thief in the night, I started cramming my things back into my bag. It didn't really take too long because I hadn't spent much time in the room. I didn't even bother with a shower. I just needed to get out.

I stood in the middle of my room with my bag over my shoulder and looked around. There really wasn't much to see because nothing had happened in my room, but the similarity between mine and Jake's room was enough for me. I looked at my empty bed and imagined what Jake had looked like in his. I allowed myself a moment to remember how he felt and what he had done to me. My drive down memory lane was all too short and ended with me crashing and burning before bolting from his bed.

I shook myself away from my pitiful free fall and refocused on what I had decided to do. I looked at the hotel stationery and for a split second I debated writing Jake a note. Not knowing what it would say, I decided against. On the way out, I hesitated at the dividing door; drawn towards him. I rested my forehead on the door and whispered my apologies. I was sorry for wasting his time throughout the day. I was sorry for latching on to him like a loser. I was sorry for so many things but he would never know that. Most of all I was sorry that what I had hoped would happen between us would never come to be.

With a deep sigh, I pushed away from the dividing door and headed out of my room. It didn't take long for me to check out of the hotel and load my things back in my car. As I walked around "Precious," I glanced over at the amazingly beautiful car that started it all. I walked over to it gliding my hand over the sleek, smooth exterior of Jake's beautiful machine. I laughed to myself as I felt the pressure of tears building up again. "Naomi, you are such a loser! It's a care for fucks sake." I said aloud to no one.

I made my way to my car and got settled in the driver's seat. As my car turned over, I noticed the time illuminate my car stereo. It was 3 a.m. and I was getting back on the road after having slept at all. I didn't know how long I would last but I knew I had to get some distance between Jake and me. I had to disappear. I backed out of my parking space and allowed myself to glance up to where I thought Jake's room would be.

Turning back to the road ahead, I settled deeper into my seat, turned up my music and pulled away from hotel.


	7. Mistakes

**A/N: **Yes it has happened. I have finally come back with a new chapter. This was a bit of a bugger to write but I'm a stubborn female that doesn't give up...no matter how long it drags on. To those who are still around, your loyalty is amazing and I want you to know I keep going for you. Anywho, enough of my babble. Let me know what ya think at the end. Smooches, Scrappy

* * *

_LAST CHAPTER...  
_

_With a deep sigh, I pushed away from the dividing door and headed out of my room. It didn't take long for me to check out of the hotel and load my things back in my car. As I walked around "Precious," I glanced over at the amazingly beautiful car that started it all. I walked over to it gliding my hand over the sleek, smooth exterior of Jake's beautiful machine. I laughed to myself as I felt the pressure of tears building up again. "Naomi, you are such a loser! It's a care for fucks sake." I said aloud to no one._

_I made my way to my car and got settled in the driver's seat. As my car turned over, I noticed the time illuminate my car stereo. It was 3 a.m. and I was getting back on the road after having slept at all. I didn't know how long I would last but I knew I had to get some distance between Jake and me. I had to disappear. I backed out of my parking space and allowed myself to glance up to where I thought Jake's room would be._

_Turning my eyes back to the road ahead, I settled deeper into my seat, turned up my music and pulled away from hotel._

* * *

_ ~ ~ ~DRIVE ~ ~ ~  
_

As I guided Precious along the highway, I couldn't help but feel like the last 24 hours were a complete fabrication of my imagination. It's not my luck to stumble on something as lovely as Jake and it be truly meant to be. From beginning to end, things had all been too good to be true; and for once I got out before the fairytale ended. I was actually proud of myself for not falling for life's little 'Fuck with Naomi' moment.

I drove along allowing my internal mental pain to keep me awake. I couldn't believe how upset I was over this man I had only known for a day. He was just some random guy that stumbled into my world and now my every action was based on him. I had subconsciously given control of my life over to someone as soon as I could. The more I thought about it the more I started to believe that my pain had nothing to do with Jake but had everything to do with me failing again.

The roads were completely deserted at o'dark thirty in the morning and it was a good thing. I was barely concentrating on where I was driving; thoughts of Jake seemed to be all I could focus on. I stayed in my lane, which was a miracle, but I had no idea where I was. I was completely lost in my mind and hoping that the hands of fate would direct me where I needed to go. I settled back into a more comfortable driving position and tried to zone out enough to quiet my brain.

After a few hours, the skies started to brighten and the yawns started to take over. I had successfully shut my brain down and managed to get a couple hundred miles further down the road. I glanced at the clock and the first thing that popped in my mind was Jake; if I wasn't forcing myself into a brain-dead state I went right back to thinking about him. "Damn it to Hell!"

I refocus my mind on the task at hand…driving. Now was not the time to be absent-minded, especially with all the early risers joining me on the road. It didn't take me long to get my bearings and I decide that I really do need to sleep. I can't keep going like this. I'm emotional and exhausted, not a good mix for long distance travel. Not to mention, if I find a decent hotel I can get myself into bed, pop a Tylenol PM and conveniently become unreachable by shutting off my phone.

Once I'm more focused, it doesn't take me long to find a recognizable hotel chain. I'm not as worried about the hotel's surroundings since it is the middle of the day and all. I go through the motions like the walking dead that I've become and make my way up to the stereotypical roadside hotel. I don't even give the room a second glance before I dig through my bag finding my T-shirt and toiletries. I strip out of yesterday's clothes and get ready for bed without one small glance in the mirror. I can't take looking at myself anymore knowing how close I'd come to actually enjoying my life, for once.

I shuffle myself back into the main room, grab my phone and flop down on my bed. I let my mind slip to where it wants to be; letting all things Jake flow through my mind. There's no more hiding from myself or trying to squash down the feelings I was starting to have for him. I truly liked him, everything about him and if I was honest with myself then I would have to admit that I had probably made a huge mistake in leaving him back there. However, being honest with myself was still something I was trying to master; so instead I held fast to the fact that leaving was the smartest thing I could have done. I repeated it to myself over and over, hoping to convince myself, but as the tears slipped from my eyes I knew the truth; even if I was too terrified to own up to it.

I had a death grip on my phone as I clutched it against my chest, willing it to ring. It never did. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and looked at the screen; no texts either. Ignoring the fact that it was still very early, I took his lack of communication to enforce my thoughts; he and I were not meant to be.

I figured out what time I wanted to try to rejoin the living and set my alarm. Setting the phone on the night table, I laid my head on the overly squishy pillow. Closing my eyes, I willed sleep to take me away and hopefully let me dream of Jake since I couldn't have him in my life for real.

I tossed and turned but sleep evaded me. Eventually, I gave it up and realized I needed help. Getting out of bed, I grabbed a bottle of water and my sleep meds so that I could hopefully get the sleep my body needed.

I crawled back into the bed and tried to find a comfortable position. I settled on my side, curled around my pillow. My eyes locked on my phone that was sitting right in my line of sight. Grabbing it up, I pondered my next move. The voices in my head were becoming overwhelming and I knew there was only one way to stop my musings, I silenced my phone and laid it back down. It's easy to play mind tricks on a messed up mind.

When my eyes finally popped open hours later, I instinctually grabbed my phone. I rolled over on my back and gave a silent prayer before looking. Funny thing was I wasn't really sure which outcome I wanted more. The first would make my path clear because I would finally know the truth about Jake's intentions about us; the other would keep me in this purgatory of my own creation but would also bring the most happiness to my humdrum existence. With a deep sigh, I looked at my phone.

After a moment, I saw the little light flash. I quickly unlock my phone to see what I missed as I slept away the day. I had missed both calls and texts; he had really tried to reach me. There was something there between us and this proved that he felt it too. My head fell back against the flimsy pillow and a smile spread across my face. I bit my lips together to keep the tears at bay but I couldn't deny that something so small had brought me so much joy.

As quickly as my spirits took flight, they plummeted back to the depths of despair with a simple comment from my ever present Nagging Nanny; what if he saying good riddance. I looked back at the same little flashing light and started to doubt everything.

I wasn't ready to face reality yet. My brain was still clouded from the sleep medication, not to mention the psychotic meddler that lived in my mind. I decided to take a shower and get myself together before I tried to face anything. Setting the phone back down, I grabbed my clothes and headed to the shower.

I felt more refreshed and ready to face the world, well at least a few texts. I sat down on the side of the bed and prepared to face my new reality. I couldn't decide if I should start with the texts or the voicemails so I checked the times on everything and decided to go in order of the time stamps.

**Text #1- 7:45 am**:

Hey you, are you up yet?

I don't hear anything coming from your

side of the door. Wasn't sure.

Hit me back if you're up.

~J

It was a simple thing, nothing mean or cruel, but it still hit me hard. I felt my breath catch in my throat but I pushed on. I had to see what else he had said to me.

**Text #2- 8:30 am**:

Ok I must have dozed off. But still

silence from your side. Wake up sleepyhead.

I'm gonna shower and hopefully you'll be

among the living by then.

~J

According to the times on my phone, he gave up on text by this point and started calling me. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I had no one to blame but myself but this wasn't anything new.

**Voicemail #1 9 am**_: "Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Bac-ey. Ok Nimi, you obviously sleep like the dead. I was hoping to have breakfast with you, starting to wonder now. I've sent you text, knocked and now called. Nothing. Hope this isn't a repeat of yesterday."_

It was good to hear his voice, his laugh. I'm pretty sure I had an ear-gasm when he first started speaking, but as I listened I could hear the change as he spoke; his confidence was fading. I wasn't sure if I could handle what was coming next. This was definitely going to be a train wreck and I had to see it all, especially since I was the one driving the train.

**Text #3-9:26 am:**

Well I don't know what is going on but

I need sustenance. I'm heading to the buffet.

I'll try to bring you something back.

~J

I had one more voicemail and 2 more texts. I noticed that my hands were starting to shake a little.

**Voicemail #2-9:31am: ** _"What the Fuck, Naomi. You bailed on me again. I was really thinking what was happening between us last night wasn't just one-sided but I was wrong; so very wrong about everything. You know what is so fucked up about all this is I was actually starting to feel something for you. You act like you're so innocent but you played me good. All you had to do was be up front about it. Fine you weren't into me; whatever, I'm a big boy. I can deal. But this is just fucking bullshit. Twice, Naomi, you fucking ditched me twice. Trust you won't get a third chance."_

I flinched back from his voicemail; his anger hit me like a gut punch. I can only imagine how it all went down this morning; he probably headed downstairs thinking I was just a lazy ass but one look in the parking lot showed him the truth about me. I hadn't even taken into consideration that I had run from him once before, all I could think about was getting away before I got myself hurt. In thinking about myself, I had hurt the sweetest guy I had met.

I didn't bother with the other two text messages. I didn't need to read them to know that he was pissed with me so I took the coward's way out and deleted the last two texts. I could pretty much sum up the wonderful things he had to say to me and I didn't need to see them in print to prove I was right.

I crammed my meager belongings into my bag and headed to the front desk for check out. Tossing my bag in the trunk, I whipped out of the hotel parking lot and headed back towards the highway. I just wanted to get going but I needed gas before I got running so I pulled in at the first station I saw. As I gassed up 'Precious', I was on autopilot; going through the motions of my pre-travel checklist: tires, oil, gas, etc. I got my navigation system all set for my next hotel stop for the night and zoned out while the numbers blurred on the pump.

I glanced towards the gas station's mini-mart thinking about my normal driving snacks, but as soon as I thought about them Jake popped up, front and center, in my mind. I shook it off; opting to grab something later and finally got settled in my car. I passed several restaurants on the way to the highway ramp but nothing interested me; thinking of eating made me think of Jake. Hell, thinking about driving made me think of Jake.

I groaned out loud as every little thing caused another crack in my heart. Part of me was starting to relish in the pain I felt; I deserved it after what I did to Jake. The drive ahead to my next hotel was going to be shorter since I had already driven a few hours of my preplanned route, but it would still be enough to torture me over my stupid decision to leave Jake behind. His words replayed over and over in my mind like a tattoo needle to my brain creating the image of the perfect man; the man I walked away from.

It was such a déjà vu moment as I stared out at the lines on the road. I felt like I was right back where I was yesterday morning. I was alone in the world again, nothing but mistakes in my past and hoping for better things in my future. Of course, the biggest difference is that this time around the mistake that I made had cost me Jake. This time my mistake was I got out too fast, my others mistakes were I normally didn't getting out soon enough.

I felt the negative feelings and thoughts building up inside me as I drove. No need for my Nagging Nanny today, my reality was enough to bring me down. My thoughts went back to HIM; it was still hard for me to say his name…Rob. I had trusted him with everything; told him my deepest wants, wishes and desires and he had used them against me. He had used the three little words every woman dreamed of hearing and used them to play me like a fiddle. I was so starved for love I took it; I took every evil thing he could say or do as long as he kept saying he loved me. Whoever said "The only thing worse than a boy who hates you is a boy that loves you," must have been talking about HIM.

_Flashback: _

_I could hear the voices coming from inside his garage as I approached. I didn't expect anyone else to be here but with Rob I was slowly getting used to the unexpected. I stood just on the side of the house trying to straighten out my clothes; I didn't want to embarrass him again in front of his friends. He always mentioned how I looked like a slob. I was brushing my fingers through my hair when everything came crumbling down around me. _

"_So did you really fuck her then?" the first voice asked._

"_Dude, don't fucking remind me." Rob said. "She was just a fucking hole to plug; I'm not sure if she was any better than my fucking hand."_

_Another unknown answered, "Damn, that's too bad. She looks hot. Well, from what you can make out in that crap she wears."_

_Rob laughs and throws in, "I've seen under the tent and trust me I wish I hadn't. You know I'll keep her around, though; she's good for some things. " _

_I hear what must be him patting his car and everything is clear. The only thing he loved about me is my skills in the garage. _

Shaking my head like a dog, I tried desperately to clear the horror my mind was reliving. I never really could figure out why I didn't run away right then and there. If only I had been a little stronger. If only I hadn't read the emails he sent me later apologizing and reworking my brain. If only. I could sit and spend eternity running through the all the chances I had ignored that would have saved me from heartache. It was a question I asked myself daily, but somewhere in my head I just knew he was the best I could do. I couldn't help but notice Rob was the reason I doubted Jake. Rob wasn't even around anymore and I had let him control me again.

I tried to stop all the thoughts of men from rolling through my mind. It wasn't working, though, and not just because all I wanted to think about was Jake. When I focused on the road and cars ahead, I kept seeing glimpses of silver and I was certain it was his car. I tried to convince myself that I was having a psychotic break because I knew I made the biggest mistake I could have made and seeing his car would mean I had a chance, but that's not real life. But no matter how many times I told myself to face reality, I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was his car. I started calculating my drive time versus his. I mean sure I had left in the middle of the night and driven a few hours, but was it possible.

I found myself focusing on the little silver dot in the horizon; watching it and unintentionally following along in its wake. Driving along behind him, or what I hoped was him, eased my mind. I liked knowing he was near, even if it was in some stalker type way. I laughed to myself as I realized the scripts and flipped. This time yesterday I was having a meltdown thinking I had fallen for a stalker and today I was the stalker.

The miles ticked by and the little silver dot remained that perfect distance in the horizon. I let myself imagine that nothing had changed. That I hadn't bolted out of the hotel in the night like the freak that I was. I knew it was just my heart's desire but I was too tired of trying to convince myself that I had done the right thing. This daydream was what I had left. Following Jake in the shadows was all I deserved.

I was so lost in my dream world that I hadn't noticed my car's gauges. It wasn't until the idiot light chimed that I realized I needed to refuel. I glanced at my navigator and realized I still had some distance to go so there was no way I could keep following Jake. I refocused my attention on the signs looking for the next exit with an acceptable choice of both me and my Precious.

The next decent exit was in 2 miles and seemed to have everything I would need. I moved over to the right lane and couldn't help but notice my little silver speck was doing the same. An instant panic ran through me. I wasn't ready to see him and I knew he damn sure didn't want to see me. I didn't know what to do. I knew I needed to get off but should I.

Two miles never went by faster than it did right now. The silver speck was getting larger and more defined as the distance between us was shortened. As the silver car finally slowed enough for the exit, it became perfectly clear to me. My breath caught in my throat as the truth landed squarely in my chest.

It wasn't him. The silver car I had been following for the past hundred miles or so wasn't Jake at all. It was truly just a silver speck in the distance. It was just a random silver sports car, driving the same general direction as me.

My heart plummeted as the realization hit me; I had wanted it to be him. I wanted with every bit of my being for that silver car to be him. I had no idea what I would have done if it really was him but I did know that I needed it to be him.

I took the exit and took care of the things I needed to do. With the car gassed up, I drove to the first fast food joint I found and ordered the first thing I saw. After grabbing my food, I made my way to the furthest point of the parking lot and shoveled the fried garbage down my throat.

I didn't care anymore. The food didn't matter to me. The drive didn't matter. I could only seem to focus on one thing. Jake.

I crammed the food wrappers in the bag and pitched everything over to the floor in front of the passenger's seat. I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. I couldn't help but stroke the screen. I knew this was the last bit of Jake I had. I didn't intentionally keep the messages from earlier but at this point I was glad I hadn't deleted them. It was the only reminder I would have that he ever existed.

I didn't bother with turning the phone on to listen to the messages. I was oddly calmed by just knowing they were there. I set the silent phone down on the console and smiled. Seeing the phone resting there reminded me of hitting the road yesterday and having the phone sit in that very spot so Jake and I could drive 'together' and chat.

Maybe it was the sugar rush from the 44 oz. soda, but I was starting to feel a little bit better. I still wish I had done things differently but I knew I had to try to find something to be happy about. Earlier I started to day beating myself up over all the things I had done wrong and it had done nothing for me. I was going to start the second part of my trip off differently.

With my heart feeling a little lighter, I pull myself together and hit the road again. Switching my stereo to play my club music, I let the bass pound and found myself 'dancing' in my seat as I drove. I was slowly starting to believe that what you listened to did dictate your mood. This upbeat music was helping lift my spirits.

The few times Jake popped in my head now, it was always the happier memories; the ones that made me smile. I refused to let myself fall back into the reality of never seeing him again and tried to only focus on enjoying what little bit of time we did have. I had put the invitation to my on 'pity party' on the shelf for another day.

Night had fallen again and the road was nothing more than a series of red and white lights. Night was always my favorite time to drive, so I drove the next few hours in a fake state of bliss. Driving was an innocent addiction and I was officially enjoying my fix.

I watched as another state sign flashed in the night. I was another state closer to my final destination and only a few miles from my stop for the night. I could feel my false euphoria fading and I was clawing at it hoping to keep from returning to the depths of my newest depression.

I followed the navigation system as it guided me through the night to tonight's hotel. Pulling up in front, I checked in and got my key. My heart was becoming heavier and heavier with every step I took. I knew once I didn't have to concentrate any more it was gonna be difficult.

Without truly registering my surroundings, I made my way to the hotel side entrance, parked my car and froze. I reached over and grabbed my phone. I knew it was going to hurt more than heal but I couldn't fight the urge any longer. I needed a Jake fix and his voicemail was the only way I could get it.

I turned my phone back on intending to listen to the first voicemail he had left, the one where he still liked me, and was shocked to see that someone had tried to reach me. Instantly, my heart starts to race. There is only one person I want to even try reach out to me; only one that matters. I click the mailbox to open the message. Leaning back my head, I close my eyes, trying to gather the courage to look at the message. With my eyes still closed, I send up a silent prayer.

I knew I couldn't sit in my car all night but as much as I was trying to will my eyes open, it wasn't working. I took a deep breath and then another and then…_Tap, Tap, Tap. _I let at a startled scream, tossing my phone across the interior of the car, when someone taps my window. I look out of the car window to see the very last person I ever thought I'd see. "**JAKE?**!"


End file.
